


The Magician's Disappointment

by victor_fucking_hugo



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Danger, F/M, Fear, Unrequited Love, Violence, Violent Thoughts, hxh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-01 06:13:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4008901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victor_fucking_hugo/pseuds/victor_fucking_hugo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blessed is he<br/>who expects nothing,<br/>for he shall never be<br/>disappointed<br/>Alexander Pope</p><p> </p><p>Hanako Natsumi is weak. Weaker than most would deem normal. With her small stature, weak limbs, and overall exhausted demeanor, Hanako looks like a walking ghost of sorts. Physically she is weak, just mentally she is beyond broken. Petrified of the idea of disappointing anyone she encounters, Hanako will do close to anything to please those around her. Even get into a situation more hostile than she could’ve ever dreamed of with a dangerous, blood-thirsty magician who will stop at no lengths to prepare the perfect meal for him to feast upon and destroy in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. York Tavern

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~~~  
> My first fan fic posted on this site! I'm so excited :3  
> I hope you all enjoy it and tell me what you think in the comments. I already have a pretty solid idea for what I'm going to do with this and I hope it works! I know there is a serious lack of actual good Hisoka/OC fics out there and I'm sorry if this is another sucky one. I really did try hard and I hope I got his character good enough for everyone who watches HunterXHunter.
> 
> A theme I see with books like these (Hisoka/OC ones) is that the girl is always very strong and powerful and takes no shits from anyone (which is a great character. Don't take bullshit from anyone. ever.) But I kind of wanted a challenge with this one. You know, make it different and all. I got the idea from another GREAT fic I read and I hope it works out. Instead of making the female OC very strong and such, I'm making her the exact opposite. Weak, frail both physically and mentally. 
> 
> I know. Call me crazy, but I'll try and make it work.

It’s twisted, messed up  
And the more I think about it  
It’s crazy, but so what  
I may never understand it  
I’m caught up and I’m hanging on  
I’m gonna love you even if it’s wrong  
Carrie Underwood

 

The bar was empty. Only a few reclusive, drunken men remained at this late hour to get their money’s worth of shots and bottles. The atmosphere surrounding all that inhabited the tiny cavern was chilled and depressing. Despite the small, soft musical playing through small speakers scattered about, the room still had a eerily quiet feel to it. The aisles stocked with chairs, tables, and stools seemed more dejected than most nights as dust seemed to sweep in from the front door and cloud over them without a second thought. A single whiff of the foggy air that lingered throughout the slovenly room could easily put a well-built man on his back for the rest of the night. Whatever fraction of the dreaded night there was left that was. 

Peering up at the clock, Hanako Natsumi’s beady, black eyes squinted as she tried to make out the numbers from across the room. Her palms, small and clammy, one of which was balled up around her black, begrimed apron while the other was balled up into a fist at her side. Her sharp nails penetrated her sensitive skin daring to make a permanent mark or even make thick, red blood seep out. She could feel the nerves tensing up within her just standing there doing nothing except watching the clock tick away. Slowly leaning back against the marble counter, Hanako finally let her eyes rest as she released a hefty sigh that seemed to drag on and echo about the room in an attempt to calm herself down.

It was exactly 2:34 on a gloomy, somber Tuesday night in Yorknew city at the somewhat broken down York Tavern, a relatively well known bar around the downtown area of Yorknew. Only three more hours and twenty six minutes until her shift was over. Hanako felt a sense of relief slip through her being at the thought of it. Working at the tavern wasn’t the worst job in the world, in fact, Hanako felt more than honored to be hired at such a pristine bar (on weekends it was at least) than most people who worked here did. She had only been working for three months and with enough late nights and early mornings had made enough money to keep herself from going into debt. Most of all though, it kept her working, away from being alone with her thoughts. That was the main reason Hanako didn’t mind her usual back-breaking job on most occasions. On nights like these though, when business almost ceased to exist, the job lost it’s effect. It was on nights like these that she wished for nothing more than to shroud herself in the darkness of her own apartment and escape this world, if only for a couple hours before her next shift started at 10:15 the next day.

“Hanako, cleanup at table fifteen. Some poor bastard obviously overestimated himself on how much alcohol he can hold down in a thirty minute timespan.” Hiroki, a fellow coworker and a newbie at the tavern, stated from behind the marble countertop while pretending to wipe some non-existent muck of the surface of it with a wet washcloth.

“What the hell, Hiro?” Naomi, another worker said as she approached Hiro from the backroom, her lip piercing poking out almost awkwardly as she spoke. The door she bursted through wobbled unstable behind her, daring to come cracking off it’s hinges at any second. Her crazy blonde and purple hair was tied up neatly in a bun that sat perfectly atop of her head as she eyed Hiroki with a yellow and brown fierce gaze that made the black-haired male tense up. 

Naomi, out of three workers that were having to stay so long at the tavern, was the most experienced at working at the Tavern. After all, she had been for nearly nine months and hadn’t lost the chance to seize even the slightest bit of seniority power from her long term stay. Most of the workers respected her, but more than often they just flat out feared what would happen if they didn’t listen to her commands.

“What?” Hiro asked, innocently.

“The boss just ordered you to clean that shit up fifteen minutes ago before he left for the night. Don’t you dare try and make her do your dirty work...again.” The blonde interjected, a small scowl on her face as she spoke. Her multiple wristbands and bracelets clanked loudly as she wrested her hands on her hips. 

“Not true.” Hiro murmured, unable to meet either of the girl’s gazes. Out of all the deadbeat workers at the tavern, Hiro was definitely the laziest. Always coming in late, never doing what he was told, or just straight up not showing up at all was his daily routine...and he had only been working there for less than a month.

Naomi only rolled her eyes before looking up at Hanako’s pale, blotchy face, “Don’t you dare do anything for this dumbass here, alright? He’s got nothing on you and you don’t owe him shit.”

Panic suddenly rose within Hanako’s throat and slurred within her stomach. The feeling of disappointment clouded over her as the very thought of letting either of the workers before her down struck her subconscious like a bullet. Quickly, her frail hands were up in the air like she was surrendering. She spoke softly, “No, no please let me get it. I-It’s no problem.”

Both Naomi and Hiro both looked at Hanako like she was insane, but since neither of them felt very keen on cleaning up some poor, drunk batard’s vomit they didn’t feel the need to stop her from cleaning it up herself either. 

Hiro simply smiled meekly at Hanako for only a short second before turning around to face the large selection of wine, booze, anything your normal alcoholic would need to completely get wasted on a gloomy Tuesday night. Naomi smiled as well, but still held a sense of uncertainty to her eyes, “Alright then. I mean if you want to clean it up. And, thanks sweet cheeks, you’re a little quiet and small, but out of all of us you definitely put up with the most shit. The mop and bucket are back in the supply closet.”

“Understood.” The beady-eyed girl replied before flexing her hands and making her way behind the bar counter and towards the supply closet. It didn’t take her long to find a tin bucket and a broken down mop. She quickly filled up the bucket with water and made the undoubtedly traumatizing trip to table fifteen.

Hanako made sure to keep her mouth clamped shut and her steps as small and unnoticeable as possible as she squeezed past tables, bucket and mop in hand. Customers eyed her as she passed, some looked angry, others looked sad, but most looked like they were too drunk to properly sit upright in their seat. She made it all the way to the back of the room where table fifteen, along with a large pile of liquid vomit, was. The fragile girl took in a deep breathe as she stared down at the muck in utter disgust. 

There was no negotiating whether or not she wanted to do it, it was a matter of when and how she wanted to clean up the mess. The thought of disappointing or making someone unhappy was unthinkable in her eyes. The very idea made her stomach turn into knots within her. Then again, that was how Hanako had always been and it was almost like second nature to her now. The constant paranoia, delusional thoughts, anxiety, trouble sleeping--it was all normal to the frail, bland, and more than anything useless Hanako Natsumi.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Alright you drunken shitheads, it’s 5:30 in the fucking morning, you know what that means. Time to find your sorry asses a ride home within the next thirty minutes or I’ll drag each and every single one of you to the curb for the garbage man to pick up during his rounds. Got it?” 

The lasting participants of the bar stared up at the deranged blonde and purple haired girl as she stood proudly upon table three, her hands plastered promptly on her hips which were covered by ripped, black jeans. Her lip piercing jutted out and her drawn on eyebrows were nearly joined together in a fearsome glare as she eyed everyone carefully. Giving on last huff of annoyance, she ungracefully jumped off the edge of the table and landed on her clad black leather boots making the multiple chains attach to them ring joyously. Hanako looked up at Naomi with a look of uncertainty in her eyes at what she had just said to the paying customers while Hiro stood behind the counter with his head in his hands, seconds away from dozing off.

“Yo, idiot,” Naomi marched away, thwacking Hiro on the back of his head roughly. The raven-haired man barely moved an inch, only gave an unceremonious moan. “Don’t give out on me just yet, pretty boy. You’re not scampering away like last night, you’re helping clean up this shit hole. Hanako and I--”

“Yeah, yeah, just let me get a little bit of shut eye….” Hiro’s voice dozed off while Naomi only rolled her eyes at him. She peered at the trembling Hanako for only a moment, gave her a pity-filled smile, and then turned away and walked into the backroom.

Hanako was left standing against a rather unusual totem pole that had been screwed into the ground when the tavern was first built. The current owner found it a waste to pay to remove it, so here it stood loud and proud for all drunken pricks to see. It stood tall, reaching the almost ten foot tall ceiling. This is where Hanako would spend most of her late nights, leaning against it. It would be rude for a waitress such as herself to sit down on the job, even if it was nearly six in the morning with less than a handful of raunchy customers. The least she could do was lean against a disfigured totem pole that was rotting from almost every side. 

The brown-haired girl grabbed the end of her apron hastily, tugging on the loose fabric until she was afraid it would rip. The air suddenly felt intoxicating, as if breathing it was like breathing in a venomous poison. It was so quiet; the girl could hear herself breathing perfectly despite the music and six or seven other members inhabiting the bar. The feeling made the girl’s nerves tingle along with her hands that were still clamped around the fabric. She gnawed on her bottom trying to stop the shivers of coldness from consuming her. Sweat slowly began building up around her hairline, taunting her with the idea of slowly sliding down her forehead and down her cheeks.

Don’t think. Breathe. Don’t worry about what it is to come. Focus on the future. Not the past. Breathe. You are delusional. Paranoid. You know this full well. Don’t let it consume you, Hanako.

Hanako repeated reassuring words over and over in her head before her heart beat slowly, but surely, toned down. Her beady, red eyes were left only a little watery, nothing anyone around here would notice. The girl rested her head against the totem pole and let out a long sigh of relief. The thoughts had vanished...the horrible, tear-jerking memories faded away...silence no longer filled the obscene room...everything was well...for now...

Panic attacks. They were small and almost unnoticeable to the normal eye, but that didn’t make them any less terrifying or unusual. They would appear out of nowhere, as if a storm cloud would suddenly rush over her and make all the lies, insecurities, and cruelty she kept bottled up within her explode at the most inconvenient of times. Hanako would simply brush them off though, and focus on something else instead. Anything but the past…

The front, rickety door of the tavern suddenly flew open along with a blustering amount of wind that filled the room with the bitter coldness outside. Papers, hats, and even some flimsy coats, swooned around the room at the unexpected force. Hanako barely had enough time to pry her flimsy hands off her apron and wrap them securely around herself. Her frizzy, disheveled hair blew wildly against her pale cheeks. A small whimper escaped past her trembling lips.

Two men walked in, each holding a certain presence, a sense of danger, to them that no one in the tavern could ignore no matter how far gone they were. It wasn’t the confident way they walked or the unusual way each of them dressed, it was the vibrating aura that radiated off each of them that had everyone in the bar on the edge of their seats. The presence slowly faded away by most of the people in the tavern, but didn’t easily slip by the paranoid and delusional Hanako. The two unusual men continued their way in and took a seat at a table in the far back corner of the room.

One of the men had large, beady eyes that seemed to never close as if he was waiting for someone to pounce at him. His long, flowing black hair made Hanako’s look like it was some gross wig that was pulled off the rotting corpse of an alley cat. He was slender, but still had the aura that made him appear as someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. The man was nearly expressionless, like he was wearing a thick mask that never changed it’s shape. He was clad in green, long pants and a matching green vest with thick, golden needles sticking out of every side of it. The man sat with his back perfectly straightened and his eyes darting forward like a shadowy ghost with no feelings to share. The look made the hairs on Hanako’s arms and neck stand straight up.

The other man though was a completely different story. He reminded Hanako of a clown-like figure, a joker or magician perhaps. He was taller than the other he came into the tavern with and had fairly light skin, except for the two painted marks on either sides of his cheek. He was clad in a baggy white shirt and pants with purple bands that wrapped around his ankles, torso, and wrists. His fiery red hair that could be seen from across the room stuck up perfectly behind his head, not a strand looked out of place. Hanako noticed the way the magician had the slightest of a smile upon his lips that made a shiver of fear rake up and down the slim spine. The magician’s eyes were a golden yellow and seemed to look everyone, but easily glided past her without a second thought.

Hanako could feel the danger radiating off the two. She wanted them to leave...to never come back. Maybe she would run away, run away into the night away from the darkness the two corpses of evil sitting in front of her held. Away from the shadows and gloominess she would run until and figures of the night could no longer enclose their sharp talons around her, trapping her within it’s grasp. The fear, constant anxiety she felt would forever be gone and she would finally be able to close her eyes at night without being afraid of what troubles, dangers await her the next day. She would be free from the small, weak body she was given--the feeble, uncontrollable mind that had been bestowed upon her--free from her torturous memories that haunted her like grotesque creatures hungry for food. All she had to do...was run...

“Yo, you two that just walked in. You know we close up in twenty five, right?” Naomi spoke loudly across the room. Her back leaning up against the door of the back room. Hanako took in a sharp intake of breathe as she was suddenly pulled out of her own subconscious.

At first, neither of the two turned around to face her. The one with long hair continued to stare into space with a hand underneath his chin. Eventually though, after a few moments of silence, the magician turned around to face Naomi. His eyes were small slits and smallest, blood-chilling smile was promptly on his face. His long legs were crossed neatly across one another while his back was arched backwards in a way that made people turn their heads to stare. His long, grotesque fingernails gripped the back of the chair he was sitting upon before he titled his head ever so slightly to the side.

“Of course. We’ll be out of your hair any moment now~~” His metallic, methodical voice sent chills running up and down Hanako’s arms. The aura radiating off the man became stronger it seemed as she stared into his eyes--the deepest yellow eyes she had ever seen that reminded her of a deadly venom. The word danger echoed on and on in her head and she knew that these two weren’t your average drunken bastards that come in to get completely wasted on their own. Even the strong-willed Naomi looked a bit shaken at the magician’s peculiar answer. 

“Hanako, come over here will ya?!” 

Naomi’s ear-splitting voice tore Hanako out of her dazed state and back into the real world. The real world where Hanako could barely stand on her own feet and was breathing heavily just at the thought of those yellow eyes flashing in the back of her mind. Quickly and skillfully composing herself, her pushed herself off the totem pole and rushed as fast as her tiny legs could carry her into the back room.


	2. The Ace of Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blessed is he  
> who expects nothing,  
> for he shall never be  
> disappointed  
> Alexander Pope
> 
>  
> 
> Hanako Natsumi is weak. Weaker than most would deem normal. With her small stature, weak limbs, and overall exhausted demeanor, Hanako looks like a walking ghost of sorts. Physically she is weak, but mentally she is beyond broken. Petrified of the idea of disappointing anyone she encounters, Hanako will do close to anything to please those around her. Even get into a situation more hostile than she could’ve ever dreamed of with a dangerous, blood-thirsty magician who will stop at no lengths to prepare the perfect meal for him to feast upon and destroy in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2 :)  
> Enjoy~~

Fear is an idea-crippling,  
experience-crushing,  
success-stalling,  
inhibitor inflicted  
only by yourself  
Stephanie Melish

 

Hanako stood behind the bar, her head held up as high as she could as she tried to imitate Naomi as well as she could. Naomi’s leadership, her cunning, her authority….none of which Hanako could pull off in the least. Her small frame, slim bones, frizzy hair, and tired eyes couldn’t even come close to matching what Naomi brought to the table each day.

She tightened the black apron that dared to drape off of her horrible excuse of a waist. Her white, baggy shirt hung low, almost below her knees, and had all the remnants of that day slathered on it like a painting. A vomitous green here, a ketchup stain here, a yellow stain that Hanako couldn’t identify that lay just on her right shoulder there. In short, the small girl looked like a hot mess. She dreamed of nothing more than getting out of the nauseating tavern and taking a hot shower that singed her pale skin. 

Hanako let out a chilled sigh and spoke softly under her breath, “Only twenty minutes. You can do this. Naomi trusts you on your own. Just lock up and go home. Leave Hiro sleeping in the back room and go home.”

Naomi had pulled Hanako into the back room only a moment before dashing out the front exit, a look of anxiety written across her features. A denim jacket was already pulled over her arms and a thin, wool cap was already secured around her head. Hanako didn’t question her and wasn’t planning to, but luckily Naomi explained what she was doing before leaving Hanako alone to fend for herself. 

“I got to go...don’t ask why, I-I don’t want you getting mixed up in my shit, alright? Just know I gotta go take care of something and I’m fine. Yeah, I’m fine. If I don’t show up to work tomorrow morning I’m fine...just tell the boss some drunken idiot punched me in the back of the head and I’m not feeling too hot, alright? Good. Hiro is asleep in the back and I’ll bet you he snuck in a couple glasses of jaeger earlier on in the night. He is out cold, you’re the only one here I can trust okay? Just make sure everyone leaves, clean up a bit, and lock up, alright? Easy.” Naomi, a somewhat panicked expression on her face, marched over towards Hanako who was nearly five inches shorter than the tall, leggy blonde. Hanako saw out of the corner of her eyes Naomi tucking away a small, purple cell phone that seemed to be buzzing and lighting up nonstop. Nevertheless, Naomi rested her hands upon the smaller girl’s thin shoulders and sighed, “I’m sorry I have to do this. But...it’s urgent and I trust you. You’ll be fine on your own I promise. Just leave Hiro in the back and he’ll wake up getting what he deserves. I have to go now. Bye!”

And with that, Naomi stormed out of the backroom leaving Hanako all alone, the only worker at the tavern. The small girl gulped, panic rising in her chest at the realization but she quickly pushed it back down. 

She couldn’t disappoint Naomi. She trusted her. Disappointing her would be a complete insult. Only twenty more minutes….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five minutes later…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hey lady,”

Hanako nearly jumped back into the various glasses and bottles behind her at the unsuspecting voice before her. Her eyes widened as she looked up, “S-Sorry sir. How can I help you?”

An old, plump man stood before Hanako. He was short, not as short as her, but still looked like he was struggling to carry so much weight with his short stature. His eyebrows were fuzzy balls above his eyes and were practically stitched together in anger. It was obvious by the dazed look in his eyes and the wobbly steps the man took towards the counter though that the man was highly intoxicated. Hanako could practically taste the awful smell of alcohol radiating off the man before her. Still, she tried to put on her best smile and be polite.

“Just what kind of bozo show are you whackjobs running around here?!” The man yelled, disrupting the quietness that had been in the tavern since 2:00am.

Hanako gulped, but the man interjected before she could get a word out. “You fucking unclean swines...I-It’s everywhere…I see her...everywhere...”

“Sir, please. Let me help you sit down or something.” Hanako said, her voice no louder than a whisper. She reached a hand towards the wobbly man as he looked as though any second he could topple over. The man’s black eyes seemed to turn a fiery red at her gesture as he caught the girl’s tiny wrist in his large, lumpy hand.

Hanako nearly toppled over at the sudden touch, her heart beat instantly began to speed up. She felt as though not only her wrist but her throat was becoming constricted as she took short, quick gasps. She felt trapped, and in a sense, she was. 

Stay calm. Don’t freak out. Don’t dissapoint.

“Sir, p-please release your grip and--”

“Shut your damn mouth, wench!” The man roared, running his free hand over his face, leaving behind a red trail of nail marks that seemed indented into his face as he went. "Do you realize what you people have done?!”

“P-Please, I-I-”

Hanako felt as though she was being stabbed over and over again. Anxiety welled up inside her being, eating her flesh and bones like a hungry monster wanting to devour her whole. Beads of sweat spilled down the sides of her face as she attempted to take a massive step back. The only thing that seemed to be keeping her on her feet was the man’s strong grip around her bruised wrist, and the thought of disappointing someone.

“You’re the reason...yes, it’s your fault.” The man’s eyes became deranged and wide. His actions became sharper and more unexpected. His words slurred together to the point where Hanako couldn’t even make out what he was saying. All she could do was stare at him in wide-eyed fear.

My...fault…? What have I done…?! Hanako demanded, her brain began to scatter to the point where she couldn’t come up with a cohesive thought, let alone one that made any sense. Fear consumed her very being. 

“You’re fault!.....every….I know...you’re….you’re the one to blame!” The hand that was wrapped firmly around Hanako’s wrist now made it’s way to her neck. Cold, slimy fingers traced their way roughly around Hanako's jugular making a sudden sense of panic take through her girl's body. Instantly, Hanako tried to pull back from the man, but that only caused her to gag horribly and make his grip tighten around her.

In a frenzy, the brown-haired girl made a sad attempt to fight back by clawing at the assailant's hand, but it was no better than a child doing the same thing. In one swift motion, the man, despite his small stature, reached over the bar, grasping Hanako’s slim shoulder with his free hand, and ultimately yanking her small, weak frame over the bar. Glasses, bottles, and plates smashed onto the ground as Hanako’s body was dragged across the soft, cool marble. She barely had time to wrap her hands around the man’s plump wrist around her neck before her feet gave away and landed roughly on the glass ridden ground below.

Hanako’s eyes were brimmed with tears now as she couldn’t even muster a ‘help’ out of her concealed throat. The man only grew angrier with each second, his face becoming a mass of hatred and indignation. He was standing over her now, his short stature till towering over the trembling female below. Veins popped out of his forehead while sweat pooled around his flushed cheeks. His brown, rusted teeth were exposed and clenched tightly together as he squeezed, choking the life out of the girl.

Hanako could barely hang on. She was so weak and she knew it. Useless and weak...just another disappointment. Her blurry eyes scanned the room desperately, but no one seemed even remotely interested in the chaos going on. They were all either staring at their drinks below in a dazed state or leaning back in their chairs, seconds away from passing out. All except one...One that despite Hanako’s horrifying situation, still made her blood run cold and a feeling of utter despair wash over her like a tidal wave just at his cold gaze.

“You did this to me!” The man yelled, his deep voice booming throughout the tavern. Hanako began seeing black spots in her vision. The lack of air was shutting down her basic functions. She couldn’t think, feel, or barely move. All she could do was stare forward into oblivion.

“It’s your fault! You’re the reason why she left! You’re the reason the bitch took Anya away from me! I loved her….and you took her awa--”

“I beg you to reconsider.”

The man loosened his grip only a bit, giving Hanako just enough air to keep her alive. The lumpy man though, anger and all, turned slowly towards the the source of the cynical sound. His eyes met with a much more sinister, much more evil, glance than he could ever hope to muster. The magician’s eyes held three times the amount of danger that the man holding Hanako could ever dream of having. The magician’s yellow-gold eyes pierced the man so suddenly, that the man almost dropped Hanako’s nearly limp body as fear slowly began to well inside him.

Leaning back in his chair, the magician dipped his head and cranked his neck far back. The man was almost sure that there wasn’t a solid bone in the lengthy magician’s body that would allow him to do such a thing. The magician’s smile only widened at the reaction he received from the troublesome, little man, “Blaming some pathetic worker for your poor drinking habits is extremely rude, even for my standards. Did your wife and daughter really leave you...because of a little thing like her? Or did you simply drink to your heart’s content and whisk them away with,” The magician paused and closed his eyes. His wrist suddenly appeared right next to his face and with a flick of the wrist a dainty card skillfully emerged between his two bony fingers, “, the simple flick of your wrist?” The magician chuckled manically, his eyes glowing with excitement. The black haired man sitting beside the magician hadn’t moved a muscle nor changed his expression, though in a way he did look more annoyed than when he first walked in.

“You--You stay out of this, you damned clown!” The man screamed, his voice rattling the inside of Hanako’s already sore head. His stout body had grown tensed, and the grip on Hanako’s neck had substantially decreased, yet the grip was still firm enough that a dainty thing like her couldn’t get away. Hanako could feel the fear radiating off the man and faintly see the look of terror shrouded behind the look of vexation in his black eyes as they darted between her and the magician

The magician’s smile only wavered for a second before promptly returning. A small chuckle resonated from deep within his throat before he stood up, shocking the whole tavern. The man, while gripping Hanako’s neck, took a step back dragging the nearly lifeless girl’s body with him. The hard wooden floor creaked with each step the busty man took. The magician, however, took a few daring steps forward and didn't make a single sound. His purple, high heeled shoes seemed to glide across the tavern floor. His violent, yellow eyes were locked on the small man, a look of pleasure secured on his features as he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. With his free hand, the magician gripped the bottom of his pointed chin with his index finger and thumb, observing the pair silently from across the room.

“W-What?” the man barked, his grip tightening making a gagging sound come from the now blotchy-eyed and trembling Hanako as she dangled vigorously between the lines of life and death. The man spoke in a low, trembling voice, “Y-You want in on this? You r-really want to f-fight…?”

Without a second of hesitation the man had once again lifted Hanako’s limp body off the ground and slammed her against the nearest solid object, the totem pole. Hanako’s back arched in pain as the hard, cool wood made contact with her weak spine. Shocks and jolts of panic and excruciating pain ran up and down the back of her neck and head as she let out a loud cry that resonated throughout the tavern.

Hanako was on the edge. Her body was breaking down and she didn’t know how much longer she could last taking in quick, sharp intakes of breath. Her body felt as though it had been put through the ringer and was now nothing more than a scrap of meat hanging onto her soul. Her throat felt constricted and dry, yet her face was all but soaked in fresh, hot tears. Her clothes were disheveled and her hair was up in all directions--she already looked like a dead woman. 

This can be my end. She thought somberly. No more pain, fear, anxiety. Just disappointment...

“Ha! Good luck taking me down so e-easily! I’ll have you on your ass and sh--shipped back to whatever shitbag circus show you c-came...from..f-from!” The drunken man’s head bobbed up and down as a line of drool dripped from the corner of his swollen lips. “I’ll kill this d-damned slut and put a clown-n-n l-like you...ON YOUR A--”

Nobody saw it coming. Hell, not even the man that was struck with the now bloodied card saw it coming until it was too late. The card went zooming through the air like a speedy bullet with all the force and toughness of a real one. It had found it’s target before the target even knew what hit the top of his scalp that was now nearly cleaned off and lying in a bloodied mess on the tavern floor. The card zoomed through the man’s nearly bald scalp and imbedded itself into the totem pole behind the man’s head. But, not before slicing through Hanako’s cheek, leaving a large, open gash on her left cheek that oozed blood. 

The magician, who was calmly standing on the other side of the room, his hand pointed towards the two and the card was missing from in between his bony fingers. The smile grew immensely on his intense face, “Bullseye~~”

Hanako was released and fell onto her knees on the tavern floor as soon as the card had made contact with the totem pole. She wasted no time taking in a deep, much-needed gulp of air while letting the tears she had gathered up let flow out of her in large waves. While gasping for air, she coughed and hacked and cried as many tears as her eyes would allow her to. Her body was a trembling mess and the feeling of being contained and restricted wouldn’t leave her. Her muscles still felt like putty and her head still ached to the point where she couldn’t see straight.

It wasn’t until her eyes landed on the body of the small man with the top of his scalp nearly cleaned off that true panic began to set in. With the lack of oxygen and the state of shock she was in, all the weakened girl could do was scoot away but a few inches, all while looking with terrified eyes at the mess before her. The wide eyed and empty gaze that had taken over the once enraged man filled Hanako’s mind sending her over the edge of being able to cope with the situation she had been forced into. Only moments after barely regaining her breath, Hanako let out a small cry that couldn’t possibly be heard be anyone else unless they were in the tavern with her. Nevertheless, tears flood down the trembling girl’s cheeks and landed in large droplets along her reddened, bony hands.

The man was dead, stilled and doomed to never move nor speak again. His scalp was nearly cleaned off, exposing pieces of his skull and brain for all those in the tavern. Blood splurted from his wound and leaked in large amounts onto the once shiny tavern floor. Blood also began to seep from the corner of the man’s mouth and lifeless eyes as the bleeding progressed. Hanako could barely take in the horror she was witnessing so close to her.

“Is--Is Anzai dead? Dumb bastard...” A customer muttered seconds after the man’s scalp was hacked off. 

“I think so...What the hell do we do?” Another customer inquired.

“You know good and well what I’m doing--getting the fuck outta here before the cops show up. I already got two strikes, and I’m definitely not wasting my third on that crazy lunatic who couldn't get over the fact that his wife and kid left his dumb ass."

“He’s right. Let’s get out of here.”

“Stinks anyway...rotting corpses I mean. Shouldn’t take long with that kind of wound.”

Slowly, but surely, all the customers except for two exited the tavern without even giving Hanako nor the small man a second glance as if it was her problem, as a tavern employee, to take care of the body and mess now. Some of them even walked out with their drinks unpaid for and still gripped tightly in their chapped hands. Hanako, who was once a shivering mess of nerves, was now completely still as if the coldness she felt bottled within her had frozen her to the core. She didn’t dare make any attempt to move or speak, her eyes stared wide in front of her waiting for something...anything to happen. Even when blood from the small man’s wound began to seep closer and closer until she was practically sitting on it--she didn’t dare move a muscle.

“Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight.” 

For the first time that night, the man with long black hair spoke. His voice was even more calm than the magician’s, almost to the point where he sounded bored. He stood up from the table, a small glass in his hand. His beady, black eyes that were unchanging looked around cautiously, “It’s 6:03, we’ve overstayed our welcome.”

“I agree~~.” The magician purred, following his acquaintance of sorts. The two made their way up towards the counter of the tavern and set their glasses amongst the broken bottles and shattered pieces of glasses. The black-haired one reached into his pocket and pulled out a few golden coins which he set on the countertop.

“No tip? Aren’t you a cold one, Illumi.” The magician pressed his lips together in a cringe-worthy grin while resting his elbow gently against the glass that covered the counter. The black-haired man, Illumi, didn’t look fazed by his childish antics and simply brushed past him with ease.

Before the two exited though, the magician gave one last look behind his shoulder and opened his mouth wide, “Ahh~~I almost forgot about you…”

Hanako froze, she was still before, but now even the thought of breathing sounded like suicide. She listened as the magician took slow, soundless steps towards her. With his pointed chin held up high and his hand crossed in front of his chest, he approached her and towered over her strewn body with ease. The world seemed to freeze as Hanako felt the true presence of the man before her--the true dangerous aura that leaked off of him like a venomous plant.

“Here you are my lovely~~” The magician purred, gripping the edge of the bloodied card and yanking it out of the totem pole. His eyes lowered on it before his swollen lips met the smooth backside of the card. His tongue trailed over the shape edge, slowing licking up the blood that was about to drop off it. 

His yellow eyes shifted from the card, down to the nearly lifeless body from below him. His yellow eyes slid over Hanako’s small frame like a snake making her feel like the smallest, most feeble creature alive. He held in a scoff as he took in the pathetic being before him, instead he let a sinister smile from around the edges of his mouth. He bent down towards her, ever so slowly and watched in pure satisfaction as the look of utter fear grew upon her bloodied features. The look made the magician’s blood boil in excitement and pleasure at the panic-stricken look upon the girl’s face.

Her wide, hopeless gaze...the way her body never moved a muscle and was frozen to the core with fear...the way the blood of the deranged man circled around her and was smeared promptly across her pale cheeks…

Everything about this girl made the magician want to swipe his dangerous card one last time that night, right across her dainty throat. He held back the urge though knowing that in the end taking the life of such a hopeless creature wouldn’t please him. Quite the contrary, it would make him bored, perhaps even despise himself for taking a being life that was so below the normal standards. Why waste energy on something so feeble that would cease to please him? The thought made the magician want to shrink back in disgust. 

In short, killing the girl would be a complete and utter waste of time no matter how fast he was able to strike her down.

After only a moment of deciding whether or not it was even worth it to kill a worthless, weak human such as she--he decided instead to have a bit of last minute fun. After all, she deserved it, she was the one who somewhat started all the ruckus in the first place. What a pitiful creature….

The magician smiled, sending shivers of panic racing through Hanako’s damaged mind. He tilted his head to the side, examining her before quickly shoving the sharp end of the card against her bruised neck. Instantly, Hanako’s brain ordered for her to pull back, but every nerve in her body seemed stiff and wouldn’t obey even the simplest rules. A small stream of blood dripped down Hanako’s neck from the sudden touch of the deadly card.

“Hmm, well isn’t this interesting…” The magician mused while chuckling softly. He let the card suddenly drop from between his two delicate fingers and fall so it landed softly in the girl’s lap. The girl’s breathing became ragged as she felt as though the eye’s of a true beast, a true monster, were staring directly into her very soul, her very essence where she couldn’t escape no matter how far she ran.

“I’ll leave this with you. Think of it as...a trophy.” The look on the twisted magician’s face made the blood in Hanako’s face drain, leaving her face an uncomfortable, unhealthy shade of white. 

Standing upright, the magician gave the girl below him one last horrifying grin before gracefully and quickly exiting the tavern. Thus, leaving the damaged, weaken girl alone in the tavern with a passed out coworker and a scalped man. Tears once again streamed down the girl’s face as her shaky heads reached for the card in her lap that seemed to be burning the inside of her thigh where it landed. 

Flipping the bloodied and sleek card over to it’s right side, the girl took in the card cautiously. The Ace of Hearts--the bloodied Ace of Hearts lay dangerously within her grasp.


	3. Correct?

The startling evening wind rushed in through the small window, rattling the dusty curtains around it. The setting sun’s orange ray shined brightly through the dreary, dirt-ridden glass and reflected throughout the small one bedroom apartment. Hanako didn’t waste any time jumping out of her bed, all of her nerves already on end from the sudden noise, and dashing over to the window before pulling the only half-opened window fully closed.

Her breathing was ragged as she stood there, gripping the chipping paint of the window sill tightly as if it was her last life line. She stared down at her chapped feet, watching her toes slowly clench up before flexing out slowly. The scene made her beating heart somewhat slow down to a normal beat. Normal enough to pry her long, bony fingers away from the sill and turn around with a sigh. Her shoulders relaxed a little, letting her bony arms droop around her.

Gulping, Hanako shut her weary eyes and ran her fingers along her scalp and through her damp hair. All the girl wanted was sleep, but such a simple task never came easy to her. Sleep meant being alone, and alone meant thinking and being trapped in one’s own mind with one’s own thoughts. And Hanako’s thoughts were clouded with a certain pair of golden eyes she couldn’t seem to erase. Such a simple, everyday task spelled out more trouble than Hanako would ever set out to find.

Riiinnngggg

Hanako gasped before spinning around, her hand clamped over her once again racing heart, as her eyes landed on the white, sleek flip phone that lay promptly on her bed side table. I vibrated profusely, making it move closer and closer to the end of the small table. Shaking her head back and forth, Hanako quickly made it over to her ringing cellphone and grabbed it cautiously. She took a seat on her blue, fluffy comforter that was skrewn neatly across her bed before flipping the flimsy cell phone open and holding it up to her ear.

She cleared her throat, not wanting to sound like some hermit that just rolled out of bed, although that wasn’t exactly far from the truth. She said in a small voice, “H-Hello…?”

“Hanako! Hanako, is that you?! Dear God, are you okay? I’ve been trying to reach you all day I swear right after I heard what happened on the news! I’ve been searching up and down the streets of Yorkshire with Benji trying to find a single plugin that fits my outdated phone! Oh my God….Hanako, I heard about the whole th-thing...I-I--”

“Naomi...i-if you don’t mind me asking...What are you doing in Yorkshire?” Hanako’s voice was small, but loud and bold enough to make even Naomi pause and take in what she just heard.

“I...It’s not important….forget that I told you where I am. Besides, I won’t be here much longer anyway. Just know I’m with friends and--”

“Is that who Benji is...a friend?”

“Yeah...he--he is. But, enough about me already, Hanako. You--You were attacked! You were nearly strangled to death by some old, drunken bastard and I wasn’t there to help you! That bastard got his head taken off! The police said that it had to have been some kind of--of sword of sorts! A sword! Apparently the guy who did it was some big shot as well. He was the vice president of something...But that is insane! I-I-You could’ve died!” Naomi’s voice cracked over the phone as she spoke. It didn’t fit her personality at all.

Hanako took in a deep, shallow breathe. “I’m over it now, Naomi. Thanks for calling. I’m fine. I promise. I hope I’ll see you sometime at work, but judging by how you’re all the way out in Yorkshire...I’m not so sure. Still, I look forward to when we can see each other again. Bye for now.” 

Naomi had never heard Hanako speak so clearly, so formally, and with so much authority that it stunned her for a moment. And a moment was all it took for Hanako to remove the cellphone away from her ear.

“Wait--Hanako? Hanako are you still th--”

Hanako’s numb fingers hit the end button roughly, leaving nothing but the dialing tone playing loudly in the background. The girl was numb, her entire body felt disconnected from her mind. She felt as though she was in a different world, a different universe where everything was about to fall down and collapse on her any moment. A world where golden eyes watched over her constantly from the shadows. The entire world’s weight was upon her bony shoulders and she was seconds away from letting the mass crush her.

After several minutes of silence, Hanako stood up from her bed. Her crinkled t-shirt hung low over her bare, scraped knees. She walked across the room and entered the only other room besides the bedroom of her apartment, her bathroom. The bathroom’s bright white tiles that after years of neglect had slowly grown a brownish, grey shade stung Hanako’s dreary eyes as she entered.

A mirror hung promptly on the wall just above a matching white sink. Hanako was hesitant, but eventually looked at her reflection within the glass. What she saw, made her toes curl up in anxiety and her head want to hang down low in shame. The girl, who was always weak and looked like a walking corpse of sorts, now looked like she had been buried underground and had been decaying for several weeks. 

Her eyes held thick black bags that hung low, tugging down on her swollen red eyes that had a lifeless, ominous stare to them. Her ash brown hair was laced with grease and was damaged and torn at the ends. Her once bright pale skin now held a slight shade of grey that made her skin look like in was rotting from underneath. Cautiously, Hanako lifted her feeble hand up to her cheek before tracing her fingers ever so gently against the once ripped open gash that would undoubtedly leave a scar on anyone.

Unfortunately though, useless and bland as she was, Hanako wasn’t just anyone. Her fingers traced over nothing but smooth, pale skin that looked as though it hadn’t been touched since the day she was born.

Stifling a sob, Hanako raked her hands through the deranged hair, “C-Calm down. It’s not your fault it’s gone. It’s not you. I-It’s…”

The gash on Hanako’s cheek had only been made two measly days ago, yet there was no sign of an injury on her cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Miss Hanako Natsumi...correct?”

Hanako fumbled in her seat, the hard leather she sat upon rubbed horribly against her thighs as she struggled to get comfortable. The nerves bubbling up in her though made that simple task seem nearly impossible as the police officer that sat adjacent of the trembling girl stared her down. The small room Hanako had been guided into only a short five minutes ago already made her feel like she was being suffocated between the plain, white walls. She pleaded silently for a reason, any reason, for her to get out of that room for even just a second.

“Y-Yes. That’s right.” She spoke quietly, gripping the edge of her jean skirt roughly. She kept her hands cemented to her lap. She knew if she raised them the urge to scratch at the white bandage she had placed upon her cheek that morning would be too much for her to bare.

The police officer eyed her, his thin eyebrow shooting upwards before they darted back down to the table between the two. His voice was clear and held confidence to each word he spoke, “Yes, of course...You are twenty five years old and have lived in Yorknew most of your life, correct?”

“Um, correct.”

“Yeah…” The police officer shuffled through a few stacks of paper, before freezing a bit. He stared down at the piece of paper for a few seconds before looking up, “I hope you don’t mind miss, but I went through your record a little. Just to get a feel of who you are and what exactly we are dealing with here….Says here you come from a village that was broken down by disease. An...An unknown disease even to this day. The disease was so dangerous that hunters had to come and abolish your entire village...and everyone still alive within it. Nearly everyone was killed, including your mother and sister, but you and your father were able to get out just in time, huh?”

Hanako cleared her throat, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I don’t really remember it, sir.”

“Did this leave any lasting affects on you, Hanako? Some trauma that still--Oh, excuse me. where are my manners? May I call you Hanako?” The officer asked, his hands now folded neatly across the table.

Hanako only nodded.

“Mmhmm, you also have a couple records that explain in surprisingly great detail the mental health issues you’ve suffered from over the years--dating all the way back to when you were only six. You would be surprised how many doctor’s evaluated you over the years trying to come up with a solid diagnosis.” The police officer paused, as if waiting for Hanako to interject. She remained silent, her head hung low. “You suffer from paranoia, delusional thoughts, social anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations, even signs of deficit/hyperactive disorder….would you like me to go on?”

Hanako gulped, finally lifting her head to meet the police officer’s calm eyes. She could see a veteran, a man who has been through thick and thin on the force and will not be taken down or manipulated by anyone, even a small thing like her. He wasn’t about to tiptoe around her; he came here with a goal and wasn’t going to let any weak-minded person like her get in his way. The girl took in a deep breathe; she saw this coming, but now that the situation was here in front of her and she felt more trapped than ever.

“That won’t be necessary, sir.” She whispered.

“Your father is a hunter, correct?”

“A poison hunter, y-yes.” 

“Ahh, I see. He must have been a very busy man when you were young. I’d guess and say that he was probably on the road a lot, correct?”

“Correct.” Hanako murmured.

“He left you when you were twelve with a nanny and no one has heard from him since he left of his last expedition to the dark continent. Mr. Jinchiro Natsumi. A man with a very small….very clouded record. Not much is known about him...and I’m guessing you don’t know much about him either.”

Hanako remained silent.

“Other than that Hanako,” The policeman leaned back into his chair, his neck craning to the side ever so slightly as he took in the feeble girl before him. “,your record is squeaky clean. I can’t find anything that would ever put Hanako Natsumi in a bad situation that we would have to be involved in. Would you agree?”

The girl’s teeth chattered slightly, “I-I guess so.”

“Now,” The policeman huffed, sitting up a bit. “Now that we are done with you let’s focus on what happened at the York Tavern. I’m detective Koin Matano, and I will personally be looking over this case thoroughly and when I’ve found what I needed I will be the one to close this case for good.”

Hanako stiffened a bit, her nails dug deep into her palms as she spoke, “Y-You’re not a policeman?”

“No, I’ve been sent from the bureau to give this case a once over because of some slight formalities that were reported. Nothing big, just simple procedures that need to be dealt with formally. This also explains why you were called back in after giving your complete story on what happened that night at the Tavern. I wouldn't ask you to come in to tell and relive it once again...I’m only here to ask a few questions. I hope that is alright with you.” The detective spoke quickly, every word flying past his lips like tiny bullets that Hanako could hardly catch in time to process.

“Now, back to the Tavern. You work there, specifically on the night in question, for how long?” Detective Matano pulled a pen out from his dress shirt and shuffled a few pieces of paper out before looking back up at Hanako, awaiting an answer.

Hanako cleared her throat, “Um, just over three months.”

“Good. And you stated in your report a few days ago taken by Officer Fujitama that you were the only worker at the Tavern at the time, 5:30 to be exact. Two more workers were scheduled to be there working at the same time though, Miss Naomi Tadeshi and Hiroki Toyama. Where were they at, Miss Hanako?” 

Hanako body became rigid once again as she said, “I’ve already answered those qu--”

“Again please. Just to clear a few details up.” Detective Matano smiled, flashing his bright, pearly whites at Hanako. He twirled the pen rapidly between his fingers at a frightening speed. The blank piece of paper before him remained empty.

Trembling slightly, Hanako spoke in a hushed tone, “Naomi left for a bit to go check on a friend, that--that is what she told me. She--She told m-me she would be right back even though we closed up in less than thirty minutes at the time. Hiroki didn’t feel well and was resting in the back room, he must’ve f-fallen asleep.”

The words felt like sandpaper across the girl’s tongue as she so blatantly told the detective lies. How could she not? Selling out her co-workers so easily….How disappointed would they be in her if she dared?

“I see.” Detective Matano said, shifting the papers slightly while setting down his pen. “Miss Hanako, you stated here that Naomi Tadeshi left just after 5:30 in the morning at the Tavern for a friend. Although she did not specify who, you thought it was alright to let her go without questioning her further. Correct?”

Hanako felt trapped. The look, the tone...everything about this Detective made her nerves stand on end. “Correct.”

The Detective stared at her for a moment, his eyes unable to read before speaking, “Miss Hanako, may I share some information with you? Miss Naomi Tadeshi has not been seen or accounted for since that night, May 21st, at the Tavern. No family members, friends, or so on have heard from her. Her apartment complex, just a couple blocks away from the Tavern, is empty and all her belongings seem to still be there and have not been tampered with.”

Detective Matano paused, his eyes narrowing towards Hanako, “In other words, Miss Hanako, you are the last person to have seen Naomi Tadeshi before her now official disappearance.”

Silence flooded the room, suffocating Hanako and making tears dare to stream down her cheeks. Before she could break though, Matano continued, “Just some food for thought, Hanako. I thought I would share that with you. But, lucky for you, the situation with Miss Tadeshi is not why I am here.”

“Moving on then...Miss Hanako, in this report, you stated that you were attacked by a short, stout, and drunken man that had been drinking at the Tavern for most of the night on May 21st. Yes? Did you know this man, and could you please explain to me the reason for why he attacked you again.”

The Detective eyed Hanako as she cleared her throat, “I didn’t know him, and he didn’t look l-like a regular either. He attacked me while yelling at me that it w-was my fault…”

My fault. Those two words echoed throughout Hanako’s cranium, causing a massive headache to begin and spread like wildfire through her mind.

“And what was your fault, Miss Hanako.”

“Huh?”

The detective looked up at the small girl quizzically, “What did you do, Hanako? What was your fault?”

“Oh, I-I don’t know what he meant, sir.” 

“The man who attacked you Miss Hanako has been identified as Anzai Ise, the vice president of Yorknew bank just on the outskirts of the city. Are you familiar with him?” He asked, his eyes widening slightly as he awaited her answer.

“No sir.” 

“Well, you must be known to what place he runs. The official Yorknew bank. The only one who people have in this town. I’m guessing you’ve been there at least a dozen times or so for transactions of the sorts.” Matano stated, his words coming out quicker than Hanako could reply to.

“I-I-I guess so. Yeah.”

“I see. His wife and young daughter left him just a short couple weeks before the night of May 21st because of his...drinking habit. Not that you would know this, he paid a great deal of money to keep it out of the press. I’m guessing this particular situation was the cause of his drunken outrage, nothing personal of course against you, but still harassment at its worse nevertheless. I thought I would let you know that.” Detective Matano stated calmly, hardly holding the amount of sympathy in his tone that his words held.

“T-Thank you, sir.” Hanako said.

Detective Matano nodded, shuffling a few folders around the steel table. “Now, in this report that was taken very shortly after the original incident happened, would you admit that you were still in somewhat of a state of shock while answering these questions. Anxiety you suffer from frequently was worse than ever would you say? You were highly delusional maybe?”

“...maybe...I-I don’t know.” Hanako answered, unsurely.

“Well, let me read you, word for word, what you stated in this report just after the incident happened and the police found you. You told the police, and I quote, ‘The man hefted me over the counter and hung me high in the air all while screaming at me. I thought I was dead but just before I blacked out the man’s grip loosened when a customer spoke up from the back of the room.’ Do you agree with this so far?” Hanako only nodded. Matano continued, “You go on to describe this customer after Officer Fujitama asks you to multiple times to do so, ‘He was dressed like a magician. He was tall. His voice was strange’.”

Detective Matano paused for a moment before pushing himself up from his slouched position. His elbows rested comfortably against the metal table. He spoke, “That is the only description you would give. Very vague, would you agree?”

Hanako’s lips trembled, she couldn’t speak. Matano waited for a moment before continuing, “You go on even more stating that the man grew angrier and eventually slammed you into the totem pole that stands in the Tavern. You even say that the man threatens the magician, but says that he has to kill you first beforehand. Sound about right?”

A few stray tears have streamed down Hanako’s cheeks, making her large, white bandage across her cheek damp. She only nods.

“Then, here is what I find most interesting, and I’ll read what you told Officer Fujitama. ‘Right when the man began shouting insults at the magician, suddenly a card came zooming through the air slicing through the man’s scalp, taking it almost cleanly off, before hitting the totem pole behind me. But, not before slicing my cheek open. The magician then muttered the words...Bullseye.’”

The detective stared at Hanako, a sigh escaped his lips. “Then, the man died of course from blood loss, everyone who was there just accepted what crazy miracle just happened and left, and the magician and his big-eyed friend just left as well. Done and done. That is the end of it, yes?”

Hanako shook horribly, “Y-Yes.”

Sighing, Matano ran a hand through his silky black hair, “Miss Hanako, just know that I am terribly sorry for what happened to you. I have no doubt in my mind Mr. Ise attacked you in a drunken rage and I am more than happy that you are alive. I believe every part of that story with every part of my being. Putting those facts aside though, there are some parts of your story, Miss Hanako, that just aren’t matching up.” Detective Matano shook his head, “A magician? A tall, weird sounding...magician? A magician that cuts people’s scalps clean off using a playing card? Miss Hanako, you must sympathize with me and why I am having such a hard time believing this.”

“I-I know it’s crazy. A-And I knew you wouldn’t believe me--”

“It just so happens that when this so-called ‘magician’ walks into the Tavern that your two coworkers, one who was coincidently sleeping in the back and another who is also coincidentally nowhere to be found, just both happen to be unable to vogue for your story. Not to mention, the six or so customers you mentioned that just walked out of the bar unphased by what they just witnessed. Hanako, do you see where I’m coming from?” Detective Matano’s eyes softened ever so slightly, while his hands sat firmly within his lap.

Hanako cleared her throat, “I-I know it’s hard to believe. But--”

“Hanako,”

The girl found herself hating the way this detective said her name over and over and over again...as if she was some poor, half-dead animal on the side of the street about to fall into the afterlife any second…

“I am no therapist. But, I do believe you suffer from a hard childhood that still affects you emotionally and mentally today. Never having a father, a mother, or even any siblings. You suffered from multiple medical conditions, one of them being delusional paranoia, that no one bothered to get you help for at the time when you needed it most. For that, I am sorry. You are not in trouble, you’ve done nothing wrong, Hanako. But...I need the truth. This story isn’t flying by and makes no sense with the physical evidence left at the scene.” Detective Matano spoke slowly, making his once quick words sink into Hanako’s thoughts. “You...You do realize how crazy this story sounds, don’t you.”

Hanako took a second to think it over. Only a second and she found herself completely agreeing with the detective before her. Even then though, she couldn’t dismiss what had happened to just be a figment of her imagination.

“There is a killer out there. A killer who is extremely dangerous and is crazy enough to hack off the top of someone’s scalp without a big, obvious weapon that any policeman on the streets could catch. We need a face, a description to find this person before they hurt anyone else. Hanako, this person killed a very important man. Anzai Ise is the vice president of Yorknew bank, when word gets out, not just in Yorknew but around the entire globe, that he was murdered in a small bar in downtown Yorknew people are going to want to know who did it. What are we going to tell them? A magician scalped him with a playing card? Where are we supposed to find someone like that?” Detective Matano’s voice was on the edge of sounding like he was begging and Hanako’s heart had almost exploded due to the amount of pressure he seemed to be stacking on her shoulders with every word.

She was the only one there. The only one who the police could find and put at the scene. It was up to her to help them. To not disappoint them.

But...how…?

She had told them everything she knew and even then the story sounded crazy and unbelievable in her mind, but she knew that was how it happened. She didn’t expect police to believe her, but at the time what else was she supposed to say when they asked her what happened that night? And even now as she sat, a trembling mess, in front of Detective Matano what she supposed to say?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved writing and editing this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it too! The next chapter is already half way done and thanks to everyone who left Kudos or just read the chapter in general. I really appreciate it! <3


	4. Utterly Impossible

Sometimes I've   
believed as many  
as six impossible things  
before breakfast  
Lewis Carroll

 

 

“Miss Hanako,” 

Hanako’s head shot up only to see Detective Matano’s hand outstretched to her, a tissue was held firmly in his grasp. Hanako took in hesitantly and only then did she realize the multiple tears running rapidly down her cheeks. Sniffing, she wiped them away quickly before clenching the tissue and pushing it down into her lap.

“I know this has been hard on you.” Matano continued, his voice calm and steady once again. “And I promise you that this encounter will not affect you for the rest of your life. You will move on; I can offer you the help to help you move on even! I just...I need you to be honest with me. You won’t be in trouble, I can promise you that. In fact, you’ll be rewarded. Undoubtedly a bounty will go out for whomever can find or identify the person who killed Ise; I don’t see why you can’t have your fair share of that sum, hmm?”

Hanako was silent. She couldn’t help but notice how many promises Matano planned to keep. The idea just made her feel all the more uneasy. Her limbs seemed to tense up and her mind became almost blank. One thought kept racing through her head over and over until she felt sick to her stomach. 

Don’t Disappoint...

“Let’s talk about Naomi again. You said that she left before Ise attacked you, is that correct?” Hanako nodded. “Okay, so she saw the magician at least walk in, right?” Hanako nodded again. “Hmm, too bad she can’t be here to vogue for you, would she though?”

“I believe so.” Hanako whispered.

“Hanako, are you aware of Miss Naomi and her past life?” Detective Matano asked in a hushed voice. His tone changed peaked at Hanako’s curiosity. 

“No sir. I hardly k-knew her.”

“She is a runaway, Hanako, or was before she turned of age to fend for herself just a few years back. She left her hometown when she was only twelve and during that time she robbed, stole, and in some cases she is expected of helping kill people during her teenage years and early twenties in exchange for money and drugs. You weren’t aware of this? Of course you weren't, she told no one and did her time in solitary confinement for the crimes the bureau was able to bust her for. Just because someone does their time though, Hanako, doesn’t mean they have exactly promised to change their ways sadly.”

The information sunk in slowly, every second that ticked by made Hanako’s mental state diminish more and more at the traumatizing news. Hanako gulped down a sob, ultimately making it get stuck in her throat and making her cough horribly before the detective could go on.

“Hanako, Naomi has dissapeared, no one has seen her or heard from her that we know of. She has a history of crime and trouble controlling her anger in desperate situations. Did you...Did you witness one of these situations where she lost her temper Hanako?” Detective Matano asked, his eyes digging holes into Hanako’s forehead. His knuckles were slowly turning white as he eagerly gripped the edge of the table.

“What? N-No, she just left and--”

“Did she though? Or was seeing you in a situation where a drunken man is strangling you what pushed her over the edge. What made her snap back into her old ways…”

“No. No, th-that didn’t happen.”

“...did she go to the back room where Hiroki was sleeping and pull out one of the biggest knives the Tavern owned…perhaps even some foreign weapon of her own?”

“No! No, i-it wasn’t like that!”

Detective Matano as on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide and his mouth moving at a million miles per hour, spewing words Hanako’s way. Hanako’s body was now shaking violently, her chest felt like it was being compressed to the point where she feared she might be squashed.

“...and come out there while Mr. Ise strangled you against the totem pole. That is what happened, right Hanako? Naomi went into a frenzied state while trying to protect you and scalped him right then and there! See Hanako, it was all an accident. A misunderstanding of sorts. She cared about you so much that she was willing to kill someone in such a grotesque way in order to save you. What a good friend she must’ve been...”

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no….”

“Then, after Mr. Ise was as dead as one can be,” Detective Matano was practically on top of the table, leaning so far over it that Hanako could smell the mint gum the lingered from his mouth. “, and she realized what she had done she threatened everyone there….including you too! She even left a pretty little gash on your cheek to make sure you wouldn’t forget. She made everyone swear not to tell or she would do the same to them...didn’t she?! Then she hit the road, leaving you to clean up the mess SHE had made!”

“NO!”

Hanako’s scream rattled the whole room, making Detective Matano fall silent while she nearly doubled over hyperventilating in her chair. Tears streamed down her cheeks while her hands fumbled nervously within her lap. Sweat poured down the side of her face which was blotchy and red.

Not long after her outburst, a local policeman barged into the room and ordered Matano to leave the room--or else. Matano didn’t fight, on the contrary he shook his head, pushed his jet black hair back, and shot a smirk Hanako’s way.

“I promise we’ll meet again, Miss Hanako.” He mused before exiting the room, leaving Hanako’s eyes wide open in fright and terror racing through her very being.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanako was allowed to leave the local police station not long afterwards. A couple policeman apologized, some even offered her a glass of water or a tissue, but most just ignored her red, tear-stained face as she exited with what little dignity she still possessed.

She had been called to the police station early that morning. Now, as she walked out, she was greeted with the afternoon sun that shone brightly down upon downtown Yorknew. The warmth actually helped Hanako calm down, if but a little, as it unfroze her chilled nerves. She headed down the busy street, desperate to make it home and shut herself out from the rest of the world.

‘No one believes me’, she thought as her small steps grew quicker. ‘And what is worse...they think Naomi did it. I guess I can’t blame them, right? It would make a lot more sense than what I told them. That magician...was everything I feared and more wrapped up into one. Would it--Would it really be so far off to assume that maybe he was only a figment of my imagination? Would it really be that hard for me to just accept what this man before me is saying and make up a new story? Naomi and I weren’t close...would it really be so hard just to go along with Matano’s story of what happened…?’

No matter how many times Hanako thought through it in her mind and analyzed every detail, she knew deep down that no matter what the magician’s sneer would never leave her mind. His cool demeanor, his outstandingly dangerous aura, the way he presented himself. Every single detail of him was imbedded into her memories and had haunted her dreams for the past several nights.

It wasn’t unusual for Hanako not to sleep though. After all, her insomnia was what most doctors would call ‘severe’. But Hanako had always sat up at night afraid of what was to come. Now though, she didn’t fear what was coming, she feared what she had seen. 

The magician’s face appeared every time she dared shut her eyes. She saw his wild hair, perfectly drawn star and teardrop on each side of his face, and more than anything his venomous golden eyes. How could her feeble and small mind make up something so frightening? The thought of him being a figment of her imagination was unthinkable. Even if Hanako was somehow able to convince herself that yes, she did make the whole charade up and Naomi killed the man at the bar. None of that would’ve mattered. She needed more than just her mind to believe it.

The feeble girl continued to walk the streets, bumping into people every so often that wouldn’t even spare her a passing glance. Gulping, Hanako hesitantly reached into her thin purple sweater pocket, hoping that she would find it empty. Empty as she always kept it whenever she left the house with it on. Despite her silent prayers, Hanako’s slim fingers wrapped around an all too familiar playing card. Pulling it out cautiously, Hanako held it close to her chest as she walked. The blood had dried on it, permanently staining it’s white and red exterior. Hanako’s heart raced as she looked down at the car clutched in her hands only to see the familiar bloodied Ace of Hearts staring back up at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“YAHH!”

Hanako’s small scream echoed throughout her apartment as she thrusted her arm forward. Her eyes were tightly shut and her limbs were unbelievably tense. She held the card as firmly as her chapped fingers could manage and attempted for what seemed like the hundredth time to cut through some random object in her small room.

The certain object she had chosen was her flimsy, ninety-nine cent comb she had bought at a local retail store many years before when she first moved in by herself to her current apartment. The comb was hardly what most would call ‘sturdy’. It hardly held together while having to dig through the rats that lay upon Hanako’s head every morning, but it had managed until now. It’s sleek purple exterior and weak bristles made it definitely look like something that should’ve been thrown away long ago. But for the task Hanako was trying to accomplish, it was perfect.

The edge of the card once again smacked against the comb before bending in half before the girl’s eyes. With a sigh, Hanako lifted up again and bent down to examine the comb that lay just on the edge of her stainless bathroom sink. Once again, she found herself extremely disappointed in seeing that the comb barely had a scratch on it. She couldn’t even detect a dent of any kind. 

Hanako was never one to believe in the supernatural of any sorts. Unless it happened right before her eyes was the only time she would be able to truly believe it. When the gash in her cheek heals only a couple hours after it was opened or when that magician sliced a simply playing card through a man skull or when her father was murdered right before her eyes but still stood up, perfectly healed, only hours later. Those were things she, and mostly anyone else, had to see to believe. Hanako had seen the card go through Ise’s head, she was sure of it, but how it happened the girl was at a complete loss about. No matter how many times she brought the flimsy card down on the comb nothing happened. She felt defeated almost at the sight of it.

The thought of the sleek card leaving the magician’s fingers, flying through the air, and slicing through the stout man’s skull that day at the Tavern flashed through Hanako’s mind making her stomach clench up in anxiety. Gripping the edge of the sink, Hanako was barely able to stabilize herself before falling due to her weakened knees. The memory brought tears to her eyes and bile daring to leave her stomach.

‘Impossible’, she thought solemnly, her head slowly dipping down and landing with a soft ‘thud’ on the edge of the sink. ‘Utterly impossible.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

The bar Hisoka had been instructed to go too was, in the simplest terms, nasty beyond belief.

Just lying on the outskirts of Yorknew, the Soho bar was not a place that most would suggest to go to when wanting to have a decent outing. It was undoubtedly made for people who had no money to get hammered but needed to in order to get through the rest of the night. The walls and unsturdy tables were covered in a layer of dust and muck that even the magician found repulsing. The building was small, stuffy, and smelled of chewed tobacco and week old vomit. The sickening music erupted loudly throughout the thin walls and made the man with flaming red hair fume with anger and annoyance at the stupidity of those dancing to it only a couple behind him.

Hisoka wore a black baggy pants that were fastened down by dark mahogany boots that had a heel on them that made him a couple inches taller than normal. His shirt was a matching black that showed a bit of his abdomen that was covered by a black undershirt. A star and a heart were printed upon the shirt and were both the same deep, dark red as his shoes. Red armbands were wrapped tightly around his arms and wrist. And the finishing touch, a single teardrop and star were drawn promptly on both of his stainless cheeks whilst his hair kept his normal height and was pushed back as far as the gel would allow it to go.

Hisoka found himself tapping his fingers away at the wooden bar counter impatiently. His feet were nearly off the ground at the height of the tall chair he sat upon, so tall that he was afraid it would break under any weight that was put upon it. The usually giddy magician found himself in a situation that not only bored him to death, but annoyed him as well tempting him to pull a single card out and kill everyone in the building with only a couple slashes. Quirking his brow a bit, Hisoka managed to keep his emotions at bay...if just for a little longer.

“You’re on time.”

A familiar voice sounded from behind him. The magician wasn’t surprised or startled in the least, in fact, he could feel the intimidating man’s aura as soon as he walked through the front door.

Sitting up a little from his slouched position against the bar, Hisoka’s mouth slowly twisted into a shadow of a smirk. “Mmm, dear Illumi, you sound like you have so little faith in me.”

“I have never had faith in you.” 

Hisoka turned around to meet his so-called ‘comrade’ only to find a stranger standing before him. His eyes condensed into tiny slits as he stared ahead. His head coked ever so slightly to the side in wonder before a small smile grew on his lips at the realization.

“Aww I see~~.” He hummed. “You are afraid when people see us they will believe we are in love.” Hisoka mused, his voice velvety and full of arrogance and sarcasm (well, only a little sarcasm). He leaned his elbow gingerly against the bar, taking in the full appearance of the person before him.

The person was just as tall as Illumi and just as skinny and petite, but that was just about where the similarities ended. The person’s eyes were two small slits, almost smaller than Hisoka’s, and were a vibrant sky blue. Their lips were pouty and their face was a perfect heart shape. Their skin was a healthy tan that contained no blemishes or marks that the magician could point out. Their hair was short, brown, and their bangs hung loosely in front of their eyes. Their clothing choice was simple--black, long-sleeved shirt that fit their slim body perfectly matched with dark blue skinny jeans that hugged their waste just a little too tight. Also, attached to the front of the shirt, was a name tag, ‘Hi! My Name is Benji’. An odd touch that usually wasn’t added when Illumi picked out a disguise.

When the stranger only gave him a disapproving look, Hisoka’s gruesome smile returned easily, “Illumi, are you embarrassed to be seen with me~~? I’m hurt.”

“Yes...but that is not the only reason. I can’t afford to be seen with you during times like these.” Illumi took a seat next to the vibrant red head and sat up straight, arching his back upwards while Hisoka’s back was practically hunched over the bar.

“Well, isn’t this disheartening news.” The magician mumbled before the bartender took both their orders. He returned with two small drinks within foggy glasses and set them before the two.

The two sat in silence for a while, sipping occasionally from the foul-tasting whiskey that filled each their glasses. It wasn’t until multiple minutes of silence between the two followed by loud screams and hollers from the drunken customers behind them that Hisoka found himself clutching the glass only a little tighter and slamming down whatever was left within it. He let out a groggily sigh while Illumi only shot him a disgusted gaze before taking another sip of his barely half empty drink.

“You really haven’t heard of anything, have you?”

“Are you surprised?” Hisoka mumbled, running his hands through his hair a bit, making sure it stayed as far up as he liked it. A couple of glasses shattering followed by excessive laughter erupted from behind them. Hisoka’s lip jutted out in disapproval, “Not that I don’t enjoy our little playdates, but may I ask why here of all places? We could’ve easily met in a bar in a blimp then a horrid place like this.”

“Like I’ve been saying. I couldn’t risk it.” Illumi said simply, his eye never wavering until Hisoka shot him a sideways glance that made the assassin sigh. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, you never do like to watch the news or even read the paper.”

Hisoka swirled around the few drops left at the bottom of his glass, his hand unconsciously twirling to the sound of the blaring music behind them, “You know me too well, Illu.”

“Don’t call me that.” Illumi paused for a only a moment before continuing. “I’ll let you in on the reason why I called you to such a distasteful establishment.”

“What? You want me to help you with a job?” Hisoka interrupted earning him a glare from Illumi. The Magician’s lips tightened until they were a neat, thin line across his pale face. He became silent.

“That incident that occurred on May 21st in the bar called ‘The York Tavern’ has been universally all over the news these past couple of days. I’d guess by now that nearly everyone in Yorknew at least has been informed about it.” Illumi spoke clearly, taking another daring sip of the mixture within his glass while Hisoka’s glass was quickly refilled.

“Mmm.” Hisoka mused.

“You don’t remember, do you?” The assassin asked, slightly irritated.

“Be more specific~~” Hisoka teased, gulping down another swig from his glass.

“Eight. Days. Ago.” Illumi said through clenched teeth. Hisoka said nothing, only grinned deviously up at the disguised Illumi in obvious satisfaction.

“Go on~~.”

“The night where you suddenly made a rash decision to nearly scalp the vice president of Yorknew bank. That night.” Illumi stated.

Hisoka only let out a hoarse laugh, “You say it as if I should care, Illu. That’s cute.”

Illumi looked down at Hisoka with a look of fierce annoyance, but he couldn’t one hundred percent dismiss Hisoka’s actions as unnatural. After all, when you are as talented in fighting with nen or without it doesn’t really matter what people you have angered. As long as you can beat them that is. And, as far as Hisoka was concerned at that point, he could definitely hold his own quite well against whatever people were angered by a little vice president’s death.

Illumi knew though that this was not something Hisoka, nor he, could ignore.

“In any other case I would, unfortunately, agree with you. But this, unfortunately, is different.” Illumi sighed, sloshing the contents of his drink around before lifting the cold glass up to his lips and taking another sip. Hisoka watched with focused eyes.

“Explain that situation.”

Illumi paused for a moment, “This vice president, Anzai Ise, was an extremely wealthy, extremely crafty man, with many associates and helpers underneath him. Multiple people, former acquaintances of Ise of course, have been contacting us and requesting that we take whatever means necessary to track down and kill Ise’s murderer, at least that is what most of the requests are simply.”

Hisoka raised an eyebrow, “What were the others?”

“Gouge your eyes out, kill off your entire family, tears a couple limbs off, bleed you out, drown you...nothing too different.” 

“Hmph. Kinky.” 

Illumi’s glare towards Hisoka sent chills raking down anyone unfortunate enough in the dusty bar to be sitting too close to the two. Hisoka only let out a throaty laugh before returning his gaze towards the unfamiliar-looking Illumi, “Alright. You’ve found your target Illu. What now? Are we going to have ourselves a bar fight? If so, at least wait for me to have at least two more drinks.”

“Dont be an idiot.” illumi stated simply, making Hisoka’s face actually go blank in surprise. “I have no intention of killing you over something so lucid, yet anyway. Plus, no one supposedly has any traces or leads on who Ise’s killer is yet, at least that is what information my Father has presented me with.”

Hisoka titled his head to the side, prompting Illumi to finish. When he didn’t, the magician’s grin widened, “Ah. Does Illumi care for me that he came all this way to warn me?”

“No.” Illumi stated simply making Hisoka chuckle. 

“So cold.”

“I am here to give you a mission of your own.” Illumi pulled the brown and black satchel off his shoulders and placed in upon the counter before digging out it’s contents. Files flashed before Hisoka’s golden eyes, none that he would ever look twice at if Illumi wasn’t shoving them towards him at that moment.

Flipping open a manila folder, Illumi’s long index finger landed on a picture of a girl with frizzy, unkempt hair and red, swollen eyes. It was obvious that the picture was taken from a psychiatric hospital ward, but nevertheless, the girl look a complete mess. “This is Hanako Natsumi, a local waitress that works at ‘The York Tavern’. Particularly, on the night May 21st.”

Illumi’s eyes looked up from the picture only to see Hisoka studying it, his fingers wrapped gingerly around his pointed chin. Sighing, he asked, “Do you remember her?”

“Maybe…”

“You didn’t kill her...so probably not. Besides, the essences of the mission is not to remember, but to kill. Simple enough for someone like you.” Illumi concluded, nodding.

“Why exactly, may I ask?” Hisoka asked, genuinely curious why Illumi, a trained assassin, would ask him to do an assassination of his own. Not that Hisoka minded killing people who had no particular problem with, it just seemed strange and peeked at the magician’s curiosity.

“She was the only survivor. Therefore, the only person who knows both of our faces and can put us there on that night. I’ve already identified and located the other six men that occupied the bar that night, but so far the police haven’t been able to so they won’t be an issue until then. The only person they have identified that was there was two waitress and one waiter. The waiter hadn't seen either of us so he won’t be a problem, the other two are the real issue. I’m giving you one of them now. I can’t risk her giving them my description. Not to mention, it would be a pain to have to deal with the bureau trailing me if they were to figure out who I am. It would put a strain on my assignments and overall focus.” Illumi said, while opening another file before him.

“Luckily for us, the waitress in question has had a long history of mental health problems and I doubt the bureau will believe her story. But, it may only be a matter of time before they have no choice but to look into what she had to say about what happened that night. Plus, we have to take into consideration if she goes into more detail. Lucky for us, she was very vague in her statements about what happened that night.” Illumi’s eyes were unchanging as he passed the folder Hisoka’s way.

Hisoka’s fingers trailed over the small, fine print before asking, “Hmm. What is this?”

“Her report on what happened. You may read it if you like, it is quite amusing.” 

Skimming through it quickly, Hisoka’s eyes widened before narrowing sharply at the papers below. He chuckled a bit, “Dressed like a magician, tall, and voice was strange.”

“Quite accurate I believe.”

Hisoka’s grin widened, “Not as accurate as yours. Long black hair, big eyes. That pretty much sums it up, right?”

Illumi’s glare grew the more Hisoka’s grin widened. Sighing, the assassin gathered up all the folders and put them in a neat pile before the magician before saying. “You are free to keep these for as long as you deem fit. Everything about Natsumi is in those folders, where she lives, where spends most of her time. Where you kill her doesn't matter, just don’t make a mess and try to keep quiet about it. Make it as quick as possible as well. I wouldn’t let her live for more than a week at this point.”

“You weren’t kidding, dear Illumi. You actually trust me enough with such an important job. I’m touched.”

“I’m giving this to you because I won’t get paid for killing her, therefore I see no point in killing her when I can just as easily go around in a disguise.” Illumi answered, blankly.

“So, you see this as my problem I need to take care of. How adorable~~.” Hisoka purred. Illumi suddenly had the urge to wrap his fingers around the magician’s neck and squeeze until he couldn’t utter another word, but he decided against it at the last moment.

“Kill her and report to me when it is done.” Illumi said, standing up from the bar and turning his back to Hisoka.

“What about the other waitress? Do I get to have fun with her as well?” Hisoka asked, only briefly interested in killing two, what he deemed, uninteresting people.

Illumi stopped, his back still towards Hisoka, “She has been taken care of.”

The magician’s eyebrows rose in amusement, “Hmm, did Illumi kill someone for no reward. Interesting.”

“The police haven’t been able to locate her, and I had no doubt that it would take you twice as long to track her down than I could’ve. So I took it upon myself to silence her.” The assassin said simply, turning around a bit to just barely reach Hisoka’s yellow eyes. A twisted grin appeared on the magician’s at the unexpected news. The music boomed loudly in the background.

Titling his head to the side, he asked, “Do tell. How did you decide to end her?”

Illumi was silent for a moment, his eyes a glassy blur, before saying, “I posed as her friend and put a needle through her eye and throat.”

Hisoka frowned a bit, slouching against the counter, “No gruesome details? No description of the betrayal and h--”

“I’m leaving now.” Illumi announced, turning around leaving Hisoka chuckling behind him.

Hisoka’s tongue ran over his top lip slowly before saying, “You seem so confident Illu. You surprise me.”

Illumi paused, his whole body remained still. “Explain.”

Hisoka chuckle, pulling out a single playing card between his two pointed fingers. His eyes closed and his chin dipped down as he spoke, “You forget, Illu. I don’t mind if people are chasing after me, in fact, it excites me. What make you so positive that I would so willing go along with your little task you so generously gave me.”

“Simple.” Illumi responded quickly, making Hisoka’s eyes snap back open. “If you dont. I’ll kill you myself.”

Hisoka laughed, his voice a low and slightly unsettling. “How fun~~. I look forward to it.”

Illumi continued to walk out the bar, Hisoka’s eyes never leaving his thin shoulders as he did. Hisoka promptly crossed his legs and rested his elbow upon his knee, but only after slamming down whatever contents were within his glass. He was riled up, over-excited, and craved the thrill of anything at that moment in time. Anything that would pull him out of this unending streak of boredom would please him at that point.

Grinning, Hisoka lifted up two simple fingers that held a thin card next to his face. The King of Spades. “Goodbye...Benji…”

The card went soaring through the air just at the simple flick of the magician’s skilled wrist. Almost as quick and easy as it was sent into the air, it was caught by the assassin who did nothing but reach slightly behind his back to grip the card tightly within his fingers. He held it for a measly couple of seconds, both parties became completely still, before he released it and let it falter to the ground. Hisoka cracked a smile.

Hisoka’s chin rested above his intertwined fingers as he watched Illumi leave the bar stiffly. He called out to him, “I do enjoy our little playdates, Illumi. Don’t be a stranger.”

Illumi didn’t answer nor did he feel the need to look back as he exited the bar leaving a grinning Hisoka staring after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that was a stupid quote to begin with -.-  
> Sorry guys...I got nothing  
> But I hope it was an okay chapter :)


	5. The Waiting Game is Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The waiting is finally over. It's time to strike.

The longer you wait for something,  
the more you appreciate it when you get it,  
because anything worth having is  
definitely worth waiting for.  
Unknown

 

 

Hanako frowned. Her eyes stayed wide open and were glassy as they reflected off the TV set directly in front of her. The room was dark; Hanako didn’t dare look at the clock knowing that it would only increase her anxiety of not being able to sleep for more than thirty minutes at a time. It’s not the Hanako didn’t like sleep, she was just unable to and that fact alone made her stomach drop in fear. It was her curse, waking up from the nightmares, both from her past and recent present. They tormented her when her eye were open, but oh were they so much more real whenever she dared close them. 

The TV was the only source of noise throughout her whole cramped apartment and had Hanako’s complete attention as the news caster being shown spoke. She was wrapped up in a thin, silky blanket that draped over her slender shoulders and rested in a heap in her lap as she sat hunched over, crisscrossed on the edge of her bed. Her nails dug against each other profusely.

“What do you think the motive was behind this heinous act, Makashima?” A bubbly, over-excited news woman asked, her wide blue eyes caked in purple eye shadow.

From across the small, wooden table, Makashima glanced her way, “It’s hard to tell Akane. Ise wasn’t just your typical man along the streets of Yorknew, and many other cities and districts in fact. I believe many reviewers and investigators of this case have to realize that.--”

‘No shit’. Hanako thought, not having enough energy to care about her horrid language. ‘Wasn’t your typical man, huh? That’s one way of putting it.’ 

“--He was a wealthy man with lots of connection and power all over Yorknew.”

“Why is that, Makashima?” Akane asked, her blonde hair slipped off her shoulders a bit. Hanako thought they were beautiful, much more well kept that her ratty brown locks that laid limply on either sides of her shoulders.

Makashima swiftly pushed a few strands of black hair from his eyes and continued, “Anzai Ise was the current vice president of the Yorknew bank. He was a large part in why money is distributed and kept under control in Yorknew. Without him, the system is obviously going to falter in many ways.” Makashima turned towards the camera, his face and voice both stoic. “People of Yorknew. Mr. Anzai Ise was a good man. He had a wife and a young daughter that both lost their beloved husband and Father that night he was murdered. If you know anything--anything at all about the person, or people, who committed this horrible crime and killed an innocent, good-willed--”

Hanako’s finger found the power button on her remote instantly shutting off the TV set in front of her and halting the news caster from saying anything more. Her breathing was shaky and with the light of the TV gone, she was left alone in the pitch black darkness of her room. Pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly, Hanako buried her face between her them and began weeping silently.

She felt pathetic. How could she not? Small tears were trailing down her face and for what? She was pathetic. But feeling pathetic wasn’t exactly new for Hanako. Terror and confusion were mixed up inside of her making her feel trapped in a predicament that she couldn’t escape from no matter how many truths or lies she told. The world was crashing down upon her and she was too weak to hold it up. There was no fix. Red, hot disappointment from others would eventually catch up and drown her along with her own sorrow. 

It had been two weeks. Two agonizing, terrifying, and sleepless weeks. She had been excused from coming into work for as long as she deemed fit. A little ‘treat’ from her boss. After it opened back up only a week after Mr. Ise was killed it might as well be turned into a tourist attraction now. ‘Come see where the great and legendary Mr. Anzai Ise was killed in cold-blooded murder. Come and inspect the stain of blood undoubtedly left behind by the man along the totem pole and floor.’

Hanako found the whole thing terrifyingly disturbing. 

She couldn’t determine which action to take and which would be the wisest. Go back to work where no one knew her face but the memories of what happened would crawl back into her mind like parasites. Or, she could huddle up under her covers and close her eyes tightly to try and convince herself that she was asleep. At least at work maybe her mind would be embedded into manual labor that she went through often on her shifts...maybe.

Eventually, after several minutes of silent sobs, Hanako stood and made her way into the bathroom, her cheeks stained with fresh tears. She took a quick shower before stepping out in a simple, white towel and brushed her teeth. It wasn’t until she pushed open the door and reentered her bedroom did another wave of anxiety flushed over her. The sudden rush made her bloodshot eyes grow wide. 

She scanned the room, looking for anything that would make her tense up, but the room was nearly pitch black. The only source of light was the small crack in the window where the curtain failed to cover up the early morning rays. Another sleepless night.

Hanako took just one more step forward before a sudden presence appeared behind her. She could feel it, itching up behind her like a shadow in the night ready to pounce and end her at any moment. She barely had time to breath, let alone react. All she could do was stay perfectly still and stiff as a chillingly familiar edge met the base of her neck. Clenching her fists tightly, her fingernails digging vigorously into her palms, Hanako used every amount of restraint in her body to stop a scream from erupting within her throat. Every muscle in her body screamed danger and told her to run and never stop. But, a much larger part of herb held her completely still, paralyzed with overwhelming fear.

‘This isn’t real.’ Hanako thought, her mind speeding up. ‘Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, delusional...that is what you are.’

“....Not real.” She choked out, the edge of the playing card met her neck dangerously. It wasn’t until her eyes dared look down that true panic set in, filling the small brunette to her core. Her whole body became encased in a sense of numbness that wouldn’t even give her the chance to utter out a small yelp before she found herself paralyzed with gut-wrenching fear.

From the corner of her wide eyes she made out a shape. A singular shape that was so chillingly familiar that she found it hard to keep both of her feet planted on the ground. The card that was held promptly to her neck undoubtedly held an all-too-familiar symbol: a red, blood stained heart. 

“I believe this belongs to me...” A sinister voice sounded from behind her making all the doubt of whether or not Hanako made up the whole incident at the Tavern diminish, along with whatever sanity she was desperately grasping onto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hisoka was bored. Utterly and pitifully bored out of his demonic mind to the point where he could hardly stand it.

“And here I thought Illu had given me a fun job.” Hisoka’s chin dipped farther into the soft surface of his palm as he stared ahead, his eyes hazed over and almost invisible in the darkness of the late night. “I guess I was mistaken. How rude of him.”

The eager magician had been watching the frizzy-haired girl for nearly eighteen hours straight. Sure, he had walked around, taken a few short breaks, but evidently he had always found himself back at the girl’s apartment. He didn’t understand why, until he came to the same, but also very true conclusion. Hisoka, the brilliant and deadly magician had absolutely nothing better to do. The thought made him frustrated and irritating beyond belief.

Eighteen hours. Him even saying it in his own mind made Hisoka question his motives and why he would do something so outrageous. Had what Illumi said really gotten to him...no, impossible. Hisoka knew it himself that he didn’t care who he killed. Status, popularity, wealth--they all meant nothing to him. He only cared about one thing when dealing with others and that was whether or not they would satisfy him enough when in a fight. If they weren’t, they might as well be trash on the side of the road.

The girl was horribly boring. So boring that Hisoka found himself nearly dozing off as he perched silently on the edge of the building right beneath the residence of the particular girl. He was only a couple feet above the girl’s only window and was able to hear perfectly whatever was going on below him. He had no interest to look down and peek in; he simply found himself in a waiting game. A horribly long, irritating waiting game that he was sure would never end anytime soon. 

Glancing upwards, his eyes squinted in irritation at the sight of the rising sun. ‘Make it nineteen hours now...’

Hisoka heard the familiar sound of the door shutting within the small apartment, By the sound of the chipped paint rubbing and cracking that he could barely pick up with his keen ears told him that it was most likely her bathroom door, not the door that allowed her to exit the apartment. How long could one lonely, boring, useless soul spend in one room without going mad?

The thought made Hisoka think of Illumi who would only leave his beloved Zoldyck mansion when his Daddy gave him a mission. Either that or he would be too paranoid about his brothers, mostly in regards to Killua, and hunt them down to check up on them. Hisoka had to all but peel him from his room to get him to do anything whenever he felt bored enough to sneak past their series of butlers and traps. The magician lost track of when the butlers stopped trying to stop him whenever he showed up unexpected. Illumi never changed though; he always looked just as displeased whenever Hisoka came to drag him out to a bar in some blimp.

Illumi...yes, that idiot was the reason Hisoka’s boredom was at an all time high.

He wasn’t waiting for anything in particular. He could strike at any time and he knew that full well. Something though. One little thing that Hisoka first noticed when he first showed up above the girl’s apartment in the dead of night when it seemed not a single soul was awake. Just one little thing made him hold back from going in and ending her life with a single slice. It wasn’t even the fact that she, not even once, had left her room. She hadn’t even dared peek out her window. 

Hisoka bent down lower, his knees jutting out on either sides of him. His fore finger and thumb found their way to his pointed chin, gripping it tightly as he stared ahead in silent thought. The girl never slept. Her eyes might’ve been closed (not that Hisoka would have known), her body might’ve been completely still for hours on end. But the magician knew she never slept in the full time he had been there.

Hisoka only knew this because of her breathing. He could hear it within the silence of her room, and even when the TV was blaring within the walls he could still make out the quick, raged breaths emitting from the small form that was the girl. They never grew steady like one would when in a deep slumber. They were always short and strangely noisy...almost as if she was too riled up or scared to fully let herself fall into a deep slumber.

At first the magician found it so strange that he guessed that the girl must’ve noticed him and was waiting for him to pounce. But soon, after he read through most of the files Illumi gave him out of boredom, memories started flooding back to that night until he could almost make out every single detail. The frail, useless, weak girl couldn’t sense an army coming let alone someone as crafty as himself. The theory was out of the question.

 

Hisoka suddenly stood up after hearing the bathroom door open and close but not hear it open again in a long while. He listened in complete silence as a trail of water could be heard from behind the door. It was all too obvious she was taking a shower. The sun was just coming up before him. This was his opening.

Swinging his legs over the side of the broken down building, he easily swung the rest of his lengthy body through the tiny window without a sound. His high heeled ankle boots landed softly against the torn carpet below. His golden eyes quickly scanned the room before he straightened his arched back. At first, he found nothing that peaked his interest. A simple, boring, cheap home filled with nothing that looked even mildly interesting. Not that the magician expected much else.

A small smile suddenly appeared on his face though when he noticed something lying on the edge of the girl’s desk. Something that brought memories flooding back into the magician’s mind that made his blood suddenly boil with anticipation.The blood lust within him intensified to a level that even surprised the crazed magician himself at the simple sight before him.

He wanted to kill her.

Sink his nails into her throat.

Gouge out her pretty, wide eyes.

Feel her hot blood splatter across his chest in thick, messy lines. 

Everything and more...

Taking silent steps towards the wooden desk, he raised his hand in the air. Reaching forward, the stained card from that night all those weeks ago found it’s way between the magician’s trained fingertips. A gruesome grin grew on the magician’s pale face as the card returned to his possession.  
Hisoka’s golden eyes trailed up to the top corner of the ceiling in the small apartment room. His smile grew as he opening his mouth, 

“Bungee gum…”

The magician’s voice was barely audible as his aura transformed into rubber cement, latching itself to the wall of the corner of the girl’s room. With one tug, Hisoka’s lengthy body went flying until he was attached to the corner of the ceiling...directly above the closed bathroom door. His flexed his fingers, imbedding his long, curved nails into the cracked wallpaper. He pushed lightly on the heels of his feet into the corner of the ceiling, ultimately cementing his place hidden within the shadows of the small apartment room. 

A small, devious smile formed on the magician’s pale face that would easily scar the most prestigious hunters around the globe. His aura radiated off of his body in quick, long waves surrounding the confines of the unaware girl’s home in seconds. It was like lava, fast and hot spreading through every creak and crack completely dowsing the place in fear. Hisoka didn’t hold back, not in the least even though he planned not to be detected anyway by the clueless girl, he saw no need to in a ‘fight’ such as this.

He could let his mind go free, pleasure consume him, and let his anticipation run wild as he awaited for the girl’s return. All he could do was wait. Wait to hear her bones crushing underneath his fingers while she screamed out in agony and blood--red, hot blood seeped out of her like flowing water. Hisoka teeth came down hard onto his bottom lip at the thought of it. It was all he could do to restrain himself from going in there and mangling her.

He waited several hours. How much more would a couple seconds do?

The door slowly creaked open. Hisoka’s eyes widened in excitement as the girl took her first few steps forward, her feet pushing down against the carpet that would soon be soaked in her blood. The wait was finally over.

‘Bungee gum, undo.’ Hisoka thought, releasing his thick nails from the wallpaper slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hanako, can you go grab my bag in the office? It should be right next to my chair.” 

Hanako smiled, nodding her head and running clumsily into the old office room where her father spent most of his time whenever he came home.. She hefted open the large, wooden doors, struggling to do so with her nimble fingers. She entered the office. She could still see it vividly in the depths of her mind--books and folders covering most of the walls and piles of pencil, pens, and crumbled up papers cluttering the marble ground. It didn’t take her long to scamper behind the desk and grab her father’s brown, smooth satchel that was securely sealed closed. It was up to her ten year old imagination to guess what could possibly within it.

Running back out, she wasted no time dropping the bag onto the ground and holding the long strap attached to it up to her father proudly. A large smile ran across her face, exposing her crooked teeth, “Here you go, Dad!”

“Thank you, Hanako” Her father said, reaching down with a blank face and hefting the satchel up onto his shoulder. He fumbled around with a few papers that were strewn across the countertop in front of him before putting them inside the satchel. “Be good to Miss Satoshi. Listen and do everything she says and don’t talk back no matter what you do. Being rude or disrespectful will not be tolerated.”

Hanako’s smile faltered, “Yes Father.”

Titling her head the side, Hanako asked, “Dad, you’re leaving again. Aren’t you?”

For the first time since her father appeared back through their doors only a short two days ago, he paused. He was completely still and his eyes were glossed over as he stared ahead. The scene shocked Hanako, for her father never seemed to lose focus on what needed to be done. This was the first time she saw him when he was at a loss of words. It made her stomach churn in discomfort and anxiety at the thought of causing such an unusual scene.

“It’s okay, Dad! Forget I said anything! I-I’m sorry.” Hanako quickly blurted out, her eyes already glossing over with fresh tears. She still felt pathetic despite her young age for shedding tears so easily. It was something she had done her whole life, yet still the shame that came with it still stuck to her like dead weight.

Her father’s locked knees suddenly bent and she soon found herself eye to eye with him. His tall figured hunched over, his arms slack at his sides as he looked at his only offspring with such a detached look on his face. Her father’s strong, serious look though nearly overwhelmed Hanako as he spoke, “Why do you cry, Hanako? Are you afraid?”

Running the back of her hand along the bottom of her eyes she sniffled, “Y-Yes.”

Hanako knew her answer was beyond shameful, but nevertheless it was the truth. She expected the look of sorrow to come across her Father’s face, but in fact, she got almost the opposite of what her head conjured up.

“Foolish.” Her father said, a shadow of a smile suddenly appearing on his face. Placing his hand on Hanako’s small shoulder, he whispered. “People like us, Hanako, never have to be afraid. Nothing can hurt us, words or punches can never damage us. We are protected internally and externally for all eternity. Never fear anything, Hanako. Never. Normal people fear for others--we have no one but ourselves. Normal people fear their own lives. For what are we to fear when there is nothing on this world that can take our lives? You are invincible, Hanako. Remember and grasp that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘That’s right. Nothing to fear but fear itself and even then that can’t hurt me. So why? Why do I let something as meaningless as fear rule over me?’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Thank You

Koin Matano was, what most would describe, a deceitful, narcissistic, confident, honest but dishonest, type of man.

Cunning, smart, and overall lack of compassion for those around him was a horrible combination that turned Matano into the crafty detective he was today and had been for the past six years. Although six years of experience at the bureau didn’t offer him much compared to the others, Matano’s manipulative personality made him stand out and ultimately move up and sometimes even surpass his predecessors. Others were intimidated and most strongly disliked Matano’s distasteful tactics, but that doesn’t go to say that they didn’t respect him. Matano played dirty on the job and wasn’t ashamed to admit it either-- but at least he was able to successfully close every case that was given to him in record time.

His good looks, relatively young age (considering where he stands in the bureau), and overall personality reeled in any victim that was in question. In short, he made them feel safe and less stressed when they were being questioned for doing something that the public deemed ‘wrong’. What they did didn’t matter to Matano, he made them feel like they could trust him either way, and he was an expert at the task. Right when the person in question was just getting relaxed and comfortable--that is when he would strike and practically claw the information that he needed out of them without a hint of remorse.

His current case that he was given, although was a big thing in the media, did not strike him as something he found particularly interesting. The owner of a bank was scalped in a shitty little bar on the outskirts of the city he kept running smoothly. How ironic. Although the way the old man died was a bit odd and hostile, it definitely wasn’t the strangest thing he had heard in his time. It was a simple matter and could be easily solved once he found out who was present there that night.. Once he did, he would squeeze every drop of information each and every one of them possessed. He just had to be patience for the time to come. It wouldn’t be long now. He could almost feel Hanako Natsumi squirming in her one bedroom apartment room from their last ‘chat’. He gave it one more week before Natsumi would come into the police station to crack and tell him everything he needed to know. He was almost sure of it. After all, he had been generous and has now given her nearly two weeks to go over every single detail from that night on her own without interruption. It is almost common courtesy that she comes to tell him what really happened that night.

“Mr. Matano, we’ve just received news from--”

“What the hell is is Mr. Sukishima? I’ve told multiple times that for the time being, until this case is officially closed by me that is, I’m going to have to stay here in Yorknew. I know this office isn’t officially ‘mine’ but I still expect someone of your status and caliber to respect my boundaries and simply--knock.” Matano’s voice became completely hostile as he dangerously eyed the stout police officer standing next to the doorframe of his office. Matano’s pen that he had been scribbling down on a piece of paper with before him now fell from his grasp. He was afraid that if he held it any longer he might cause it to snap.

Picking up on Matano’s obvious annoyance and anger immediately, the officer gulped, “My apologies, sir. It won’t happen again.”

Matano groaned, pressing his two fingers against the bridge of his nose. His eyes fluttered closed as he spoke, “What do you have for me, officer? And this better be good.”

Lifting his chin high in the air, the officer spoke, “Naomi Tadeshi’s body has been found, sir. She’s been murdered.”

Matano’s cat-like eyes widened, “When? How long has her body been in the department’s custody?”

“Um, her body was found this morning in the downtown area of Yorkshire, sir. They were in a rundown hotel that was owned by--”

“They?” Matano’s hand’s pushed on his desk sending his body flying up and out of his seat. His muscles were tense as his teeth eagerly grinded together. Finally, something he could work with. “Who are they? How many bodies were found?”

“Five, sir. All have been identified when they were sent in. It appeared they all knew each other even. The hotel manager explained that they all rented out the hotel room together and that she found them dead when there were complaints about a funny smell coming from their room. Turns out they had been dead for a week but, uh, the autopsy reports are right here. You can probably look over them yourse--”

“Let me go over them alone.” Matano reached his hand out and the officer wasted no time giving him the manila folder he held in his grasp. Right when the officer turned around to leave though, Matano halted him. “Sukishima, wait outside the door and come in if I call you. I may have a few more questions even after reading these. Were you at the crime scene?”

“I was, sir. I’ll give you any details you require.”

Matano smiles, looking almost too cheerful after hearing five people were murdered. The thought made the officer uneasy. “Thank you, officer.”

Matano wastes no time once Sukishima is out of his office to start flipping through the files like a mad man, reading every single word the doctors wrote down when examining them. The files weren’t too long, some were longer than others, but most contributed little to no help with solving who murdered Ise. It was obvious none of them had the skills, most were just nobodies living on the street begging for scraps. Not that he expected any of them to have actually murdered Ise...all except one that is.

Matano had gone over the idea of Naomi Tadeshi having some sort of crowd to back her up that also held some sort of grudge against Ise, enough to even help her kill him perhaps--but even that idea seemed unlikely. And now with the information presented before him, Matano was almost positive this certain group of people that Naomi had obviously been hanging around weren’t capable of committing such a crime. Most of them were just rebellious children that wanted to make a quick buck or two selling illegal drugs across Yorkshire. Nothing more, nothing less. And by these reports--it appeared Naomi might’ve been the same. Still though, he couldn’t rule out Naomi being involved in Ise’s murder at all. He just needed to wait a little longer...

Matano did find a couple things strange about each of the killings. One, Naomi didn’t know these people well. At most she had been following this group around for two weeks, joining them most likely right after Ise’s murder to avoid arrest. Two, the bodies had been left alone for a week without anyone finding them telling Matano that the group didn’t have many friends or family that would be concerned about not hearing from them for a week, and also that there deaths all must’ve been swift and silent or else someone definitely would’ve called about a disturbance during the time. Three, there was no struggle. None of the five victims seemed to show any sign of distress or put up any of a fight. They were just killed out of nowhere it seemed, completely unexpected. Their names were:

Okura Choshi (male, 26) 

Taheji Satoh (male,22)

Benji Sen (male, 28)

Naomi Tadeshi (female, 26)

Kahori Kiroyuki (female, 19)

Each of their back stories were more boring than the rest. Ran away from home at a young age. Arrested multiple time for selling and being in possession of illegal drugs. Arrested for other accounts as well. Nothing that stood out or made Matano look twice at any of their files. Even Naomi Tadeshi’s was a disappoint. The way she was murdered didn’t even stick out from the rest of them. What a shame.

He was at least hoping one of them would be decapitated in the same manner that Ise was killed. Because although the autopsy reports were thorough and described Ise’s condition post mortem well--they still couldn’t one hundred percent identify the object that nearly took Ise’s head off so swiftly. Perhaps if another was killed in that way forensic investigators would have more to look at--but sadly none of them even came close to losing their heads. Matano was dying to know, perhaps that is the only thing about this case that made him hesitant to close it. He want to know more about this killer and their unidentifiable weapon and perhaps even motive (but Matano was already pretty convinced that this murder was not planned--just a random act of treachery that the killer found to be fun). 

Now, just because these individuals weren’t killed in a way such as Ise’s, doesn’t mean their deaths were less peculiar. Four out of the five victims were killed in their sleep, at least that is what seemed most likely because all were either in beds, on furniture, or curled up in blankets along the floor. All had small holes running more or less through their bodies (mostly through their necks, faces, and head). Only one was killed by the front entrance of the apartment, Benji Sen, but nothing else really stood out about his death other than the location. This was meant to be silent deaths that would be done quickly and skillfully. This told Matano that the person(s) who killed Ise could not have been the one(s) to kill these five. 

This person worked alone, probably someone who had been trained and maybe was even paid to do this. A skilled nen user perhapes. The holes running through the victims bodies, which were first inspected to be bullet holes but on further investigation were found to be no bigger than a small needle. Every needle that was put through the victim’s body but hit vital organs or areas in the victim’s body that made their death almost instantaneous. Impressive.

Sitting back in his chair, Matano stared at the files before him in wonder. Naomi Tadeshi was his main suspect, everything pointed to her being the killer so why? Who would go through the trouble in killing a criminal wanted for killing the famous Anzai Ise? Not that the media knew that the bureau expected Naomi, but still. How convenient that she was killed right before officers caught up with her location. None of it added up and Matano knew that all he could do was wait for something to pop up. 

Waiting for something to happen didn’t seem like a very detective like thing to do, but Matano was not your average detective. Waiting was crucial, not everything can be solved with just one or two murder scenes to inspect. You had to be patience, wait for the killer(s) to slip up and that is when you strike. Most detectives are so eager to find the killer immediately that they don’t give them a chance to tarnish their crystal clean methods and that is the time when swooping in and catching them is the most satisfying. The time when you know the killer is at their breaking point. Where they know you are so close to finding them out that they can practically feel your eyes on their backs at every given moment. That is when you strike.

“Officer, could you come here for a second.”

The officer hesitantly poked his head through the door. It was only when Matano’s hand motioned him in that he stepped within the confines of Matano’s temporary office. “Y-Yes sir.”

“I would like you officer’s here to do me a favor. It should be fairly simple but I need to make sure that you take everything I say into consideration. Understand?” Matano said carefully, spinning the black pen around skillfully between his fingers. The officer gulped.

“Yes sir. We will try our best.”

“Excellent,” Matano smiled, his teeth shining a vibrant white. “I would like you to show all of the five victims faces on TV, a popular news channel that most people watch here in Yorknew would be best. I assume you and the news station around this city have good enough connections that you can make this possible.”

Officer Sukishima’s eyebrows rose, “Uh, you want us to show the victim’s faces on TV. For the public to see?”

“Correct, but make sure you find pictures of them when they are alive.” The officer released a sigh of relief. “And yes, put their faces, names, anything you deem fit. But do make sure they are very recognizable in their portraits that you show...as if they never died.”

“What would you like the news to report about them, sir? Do you think that the same man who killed Ise committed these? Do you want us to inform them that this killer striked again?”

“Goodness no. But that’s not important, not in this case anyway.” Matano’s cat-like grin returned as he stared down at his desk. “I want you to put their faces on TV as wanted criminals by the bureau, high level criminals that should be noted that they are um..huh, let’s see...dangerous, armed, and if seen should call authorities or hide immediately. Yes, that sounds promising.”

The officer before the mad detective froze in shock. Had he just heard right? Did this distinguished detective from miles away that worked for the bureau of investigation, an organization that one only dreamed of being part of, really just say such a horrible thing? Clearing his throat, the officer spoke bluntly, “Detective, I am not in any way shape or form trying to present myself as rude, but I must question your favor and a--”

“I read through the files, Officer Sukishima. Why, you waited outside that door for a good hour or two while I did. I know all the details, probably even more than you do yourself even though you were there at the scene. Don’t look at me like I am a mad man I know these five victims did no wrong and we will assure the very uncaring, very out of touch family members these recluses have left if need be. But, I cannot have the public know that these five were ever dead. Make sure you make that perfectly clear to everywhere there at the crime scene and especially the people who are reporting this.” 

When the officer before him still looked uneasy about what Matano just said, the detective sighed, “No one gives information to police about someone who is already dead, Sukishima. That I can promise you is almost a given. The dead have passed on, they are gone from this world and will eventually be forgotten by society no matter how gruesome the death--that is no different from these five here. I need information on them though that these files cannot tell me. Therefore, marking them as dangerous criminals will make people definitely want to talk...most likely for some reward but we will discuss that later.”

“But,” The officer looked down at has intertwined hands in thought, doubt was slowly flooding into his mind and a twinge of fear at how calm and collective the detective was about framing these people as dangerous criminals. “These people have done no wrong. They were victims and to tarnish their reputa--”

“Ahh,” Matano halted the officer by putting his hand in the air and giving him a look that made the officer grow tense. “That is where you are mistaken, Sukishima. Right here, you, me, and everyone sees an innocent girl with only a few minor blemishes on her record, yes?” 

“What are you--”

The officer paused as Matano pushed forward Naomi Tadeshi’s file. Her face was a light shade of pale, eyes closed, and face sunken down after a week of decaying. Her black lip piercing was still attached promptly to her bottom, bloodied lip. Her jet black hair in tangles around her shoulders and face.

“I believe that behind that innocent face, there is a secret this girl was hiding during her lifetime.” Matano sat back in his leather black chair. He folded his hands firmly in his lap and sat his feet atop of his desk. Gripping the pen tightly in his hand, he suddenly let it loose and began twirling it innocently between his boney fingers once again. “And I, Officer Sukishima, will do whatever task necessary, even tarnish what little reputation or impact these five had on the world, to get that information. Are we clear?”

Officer Sukishima left the room silent, his face a ghastly shade of green as he closed the door behind him leaving detective Matano alone with nothing but his thoughts. The man’s cat-like eyes landed on the stone-faced picture of the dead Naomi Tadeshi that lay before him, a shadow of a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Naomi Toyama may be dead, but that doesn’t mean that what happened to Ise wasn’t her doing. And even if it wasn’t, what did he have to lose by putting their faces on the news? He felt no regret...no remorse...nothing but excitement for he only had a short while longer to wait. 

“Back to the waiting game, I suppose.” Matano mused, sitting up in his chair and grabbing a large, brown cigar from it’s ashtray and lighting the end before sticking it between his lips. While blowing out a puff of chemical induced smoke from his mouth, Matano sighed while once again glancing down at the lifeless Naomi’s picture, “After all, I have all the time in the world. It’s a shame your time had to end so quickly. Consider it a gift that I didn’t find you first, Ms. Naomi Tadeshi.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

'That voice...'

Hanako's body felt numb. She was at a complete loss of words and felt as though she was already lying dead on the ground. What could she possibly do? Curl up and cry? What a pitiful way to go out...but it wouldn’t be completely unfit as her way to go.

This person was going to kill her. She could feel it through every portion of her body as the magician's deathly aura radiated through her. His aura was thick and heated. It stuck to every part of her skin, coating her layer after layer that dosed the fragile girl in untamed fear. She was too terrified to even glance behind her, petrified of what she would see or what would happen to her if she dared. All she could think of to do was close her eyes, tightly. Maybe that would block out the pain of the bloodied card against her neck as it ran through her flesh. Maybe her death wouldn't have to be so agonizing and slow...

After it seemed like hours of sitting there in dreaded silence, Hanako spoke, "J-Just do it. Get it o-over with." Hanako said through chattering teeth her whole body coated in a thin layer of sweat. Her wet hair fell over her shoulders, drenching her in water making her feel oddly cold even though she felt a fire of fear boiling up within her. 

The card went limp for a moment within the magicians grasp. The edge of the card wasn't pressed as harshly against Hanako's skin as it was a second ago. This small gesture was enough to make Hanako gain the courage to take a few short breaths before becoming still again. 

“Do you feel...helpless. Completely out of control with no hope for escape.” The magician paused, leaning in closing until Hanako’s could feel his heated breath alone the back of her neck. He wasn’t asking her questions...rhetorical ones maybe, but none both of them already didn’t know the answers to. “Has feared consumed you, ate away at you day by day so that you couldn’t even sleep the dark memories away." He laughed softly into her ear making her cringe internally. "Do you lie awake, night by night, seeing nothing but red, gushing blood spewing from that old man’s scalp……………...Do you fear death. Or welcome it with open arms.”

The tone of the magician’s voice was too cheerful, too excited to fit what gruesome words he was saying. Hanako’s vision became blurry as her legs began to give away with every fear induced moment that went by.

"I'm d-done for. Y-You know that."

A small cackle suddenly echoed from behind her making her blood run cold. The card steadied within his grasp, "Hmm, you don't believe you are lucky enough to escape death twice? Interesting."

Hanako was silent. Her mouth slightly agape but no words could come out. Hisoka stood behind her, his card barely pressed again the girls neck. Not that it mattered though. They both knew full well how this was going to end. Trying to run would just be foolish. 

"You even kept my card safe while I let you borrow it. How cute~~." The magician chuckled. Hanako's wide eyes looked down and caught the end of Hisoka's wrist that was wrapped tightly in black and purple bands. She stared at the vibrant colors intently, focusing everything on them all while trying to escape what was really happening. 

"Just do it." Hanako's voice cracked. 

"How boring." Hisoka's mused, his voice no longer filled with the same childlike excitement. His face fell in disappointment and disgust at the sad excuse of a life form before him. All the blood lust and desire to slice this girl up into tiny bits disappeared at the girl's pitiful words. 

Hisoka sighed. Suddenly even the thought of killing the girl before him made him want to gag. 'What a waste.'

Hisoka's pale arm tensed around Hanako's small form. The card the firm in between his long fingers and just as he was about to finish the girl off with a single slice. Something stopped him. 

"Wait!"

The room was silent for a moment. Silence and filled with heated tension, fear, and disappointment. The combination made the nimble girl sick to her stomach. Clasping the end of her damp baggy shirt, she dug her nails deep within the cotton fabric as ragged breaths escaped from her swollen lips. The magician simply stared down at her, his face a mixture of emotions. He would be lying though if he wished that the girl would say something, anything to make him stop from ending her….if only for a little while.

"Thank you."

The words slipped past her lips in a hushed whisper. She opened her mouth again, her breathing picking up with each word. 

"I'm sorry I--"

The girls head fell to the ground with a loud 'thump'. Blood immediately soaked the satin sheets of the girls bed, coating the comforter and pillows in a crimson red. The walls around her and ceiling all had splatters and traces of blood smeared across them before the girl even knew what had hit her. The girl's body followed in suit with her head. First landing on her knees with a loud crash before eventually falling over onto her right side, smacking against the carpeted floor drowning it in blood. The girl's body only twitched at the magician's feet for only a few short seconds before becoming completely still. Her eyes stayed wide open, staring off into nothingness as her body became limp and pale.

Hisoka's found the whole scene incredibly disappointing. He held the bloodied card as steadily as he could within his grasp.

Hisoka's outfit, purple and black short sleeved shirt with matching pants and tall black heels, were splattered with blood. In some places more than others, most noticeably his face that had been caught in the sudden burst of blood. The star and teardrop on either sides of his cheeks were rolling down his face in long strides as the heated blood made them melt away. The feeling of warm blood usually made Hisoka twinge with excitement. This time though, he actually felt gross being coated in such a useless human being's blood. 

Hisoka's black heels stepped over the corpse with ease as he skillfully made his way back towards the window. He had done what Illumi had asked him to do and now he had no need to be here anymore. He held the card firmly in his hand. He didn't even feel the desire to lick the pungent red off the end of the bloodied Ace of Hearts. He felt...empty. Unsatisfied. 

He wanted to ask her so many things, make her feel like she was the smallest most insignificant being in this world. He wanted her to twinge with fear, beg for her life as tears ran down her cheeks in long waves. He wanted her to fight, show a different side of her that wasn’t the weak waitress he had seen at the bar. To his disappointment, he found someone even worse. A girl whose last words were wasted thanking the man that ended her life. How pathetic. 

Hisoka loved to toy with others lives--not be thanked for ending useless ones. The thought made him want to gag as he glanced back at the limp corpse with disappointment and disgust. How low would one have to be to actually thank them for ending their life in such a grotesque and dishonorable way? He guessed it was his fault though. Unlike Illumi, Hisoka was known for putting too much faith in his victims to be interesting. Humans were boring creatures that lead useless lives--not all could satisfy him so easily. 

"What a disappointment." Hisoka's hand gripped the window sill and he slipped skillfully out into the early morning rays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you all liked the new chapter. I always get really nervous when I have to write Hisoka parts because I really want to get his character down. Anyone wanna tell me how I'm doing so far? No one...okay great.
> 
> And I know what you're all thinking I wished Hisoka would've found Hanako's death even a little interesting but the truth is Hanako isn't very exciting so blah. Plus, I feel like Hisoka has to have some (or many) disappointments when it comes to killing his victims. Not all people are as interesting as Hisoka would like them to be. Deal with it.
> 
> Also sorry if this author's note makes no sense. It's like 3 in the morning and I'm so fucking tired goodnight. 
> 
> Bye~~


	7. The Five 'Criminals'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will definitely be editing this later so if there are any spelling mistakes I apologize I just really wanted to get this up! Tonight was my only free night to write and even then I'm still swamped with homework -.- Hope you enjoy it!

‘June 4th, Hanako Natsumi’s apartment, 6:13 AM’

 

‘Stop...Please….Stop that...I-I just...wanna...sleep...’

Hanako’s weary eyes blinked multiple times, trying to adjust and take in her surrounding. Her mind seemed nearly blank as she found herself completely paralyzed whilst strewn across her stained red carpet. The sound of the shutters rustling against the window sill made her weak mind form a dull ache that surged through her brain like wildfire. A small moan escaped her mouth as her tried to tilt her head away from the blinding light that hit against her shut eyelids from the open window before her. Once again, she found the simple movement unacheivable. 

‘Wh--What’s going on…? I-I can’t...move?’

She expected a jolt of fear to race up her spine from the new revelation, but she was unable to even feel that sensation move through her at that point. Her lips were chapped and Hanako struggled to find the strength to lick them with her dry tongue. Her eyelids were heavy, they felt like boulders resting upon her blurry eyes and she saw no reason to fight them any longer. Her blood-stained hair was strewn lazily across her face, making her inhale a horrible smell that reminded her of death. Her breathing began to become less frantic and fall into a rhythm, something that only happened to those who slept...

Sleep didn’t come easy to Hanako Natsumi. She wasn’t about to pass up the chance to finally get some shut eye. Drift off into a world that wasn’t hers. Just...sleep.

 

 

‘June 6th, Hanako Natsumi’s apartment, 8:43pm’

 

It had been nearly three and a half days since the attack and Hanako still found herself nearly immobile on the ground. By this point she knew she had been killed. It didn’t take her that long once she had found the strength to keep her eyes open to know what had happened. The sight of her limp body lying only a few feet away from her wearing her berangeled, bloody pajamas was more than enough to convince. All she could do was stare at her corpse as blood that littered the carpet slowly began to travel back within the clean stump that was left of her neck. Just the sight of it brought back terrifying memories.

Although the realization of her having her head hacked off by a mad magician terrified her she still couldn’t say that this was her first time being killed either. Sure, she had broken a few bones here and a couple scratches there, but that was nothing in comparison to being murdered. Having her cheek gashed open hurt, like it would anyone else, but the healing process took place so quickly that the memory of the pain faded away almost entirely with it.

Being killed was a whole new sensation. Depending on how you went it was either painless and surreal or gut-wrenching and excruciating. Hanako had experienced both.

It was the first time she had her head lopped off though. Having her head still completely detached she would be lying if she didn’t fear the idea of them rejoining. Healing wasn’t completely painless either and although being stabbed wasn’t an ideal way to go, it still took much less time than what this was taking. Lying on the ground not being able to move or sleep was a whole new torture that Hanako didn’t know how much longer she could endure. 

Her ratty hair, still dried in blood, rested almost completely over her face and was nearly clouding her entire line of vision. Still though, images flashed through her head of the last thing she saw before her life ended (if only for a short while). The magician. His boney, pale hands clouded her minds as she once again imagined them looming over her neck with a bloodied card tight in his grasp. His voice. So crystal clear and nearly identical to the way he sounded at the tavern. It was almost too crazy to be true.

He was real. And he wanted her dead. 

Hanako’s tired eyes found their way towards the open window. The sun was going down and darkness was descending upon Yorknew city. The thought of once again being alone in the dark made Hanako want to quiver under her warm covers in fear. A gust of wind traveled in through the window and rushed up against the girl’s already chilled and pale face. Hanako dreaded another cold and dark night that was soon to come her way.

 

‘June 11th, Hanako Natsumi’s apartment, 11:55pm’

 

Slowly, Hanako’s fingers clenched and unclenched. She ignored the shots of pain running up and down her arm as she showed no restraint each time her nails dug into her pale skin. Pushing harder and harder each time just when the small woman thought she had enough blood started flowing out of her palm in thin red streaks. She stopped to take a deep breathe while wiping the few stray tears from her eyes. Feeling pain was a good sign, in this case it was at least. This meant that she was completely healed, all cuts and bruises healed, and most importantly--her head back on her shoulders. Not being able to feel anything for the past five days was a blessing, but also a curse for Hanako either felt the entirety of the world upon her or feel nothing but dead, empty weight floating within her. 

The multiple days being immobile left Hanako alone and almost at peace at times. For the first time in years Hanako slept more than eight hours without waking up. The feeling of being able to sleep was like returning heaven after you had been banished to hell for centuries. For that and that alone, Hanako was thankful she had been killed. On the other hand though, Hanako had been left with nothing to distract herself from entering the monstrosity that was her mind. Painful memories resurfaced and in some bad nights relieved while alone in the night. During the day though she thought. She thought of what she would do when she was able to move once again. Where would she go? What would she do? The magician had sealed her fate and proclaimed her dead. Therefore that is what Hanako decided she was going to be: dead, even if death wasn’t exactly her favorite thing in this world.

Hanako did recount the memory of having her head and body become one again after going through death. Never before had she felt something so odd, so incredibly excruciating, that after the deed was done she had to lie on the ground for at least another twelve hours before being able to even dare stand up. It was an experience that was almost as traumatizing as having your head taken off of your shoulders and an experience Hanako would rather not live through again. 

And Hanako was going to ensure that it would never happen again.

Her nimble fingers wrapped around the large, black duffel bag that was stacked to the brim with possessions, necessities, and anything else Hanako thought was needed. Her whole body shook rapidly with each quick step she took around her now nearly trashed apartment. A sheer layer of sweat covered her entire body and made the days she spent on the ground cold seem like nothing to the heat of panic rising within her at that moment. Her hair stuck to the back of her neck while also the hairs on the back of her neck dared to stand up as paranoia, a condition she had been battling internally for years, consumed her very being.

She knew she shouldn’t be walking around like this, panicking like she was. Her father and Miss Satoshi’s voices echoed through her mind, a distant memory that was being resurfaced and made Hanako want to block it out like she had done so many times before. She knew the rules well. The little time she spent with her father was the surprisingly the times when she learned about who she was, what she was.

She had broken rule number eight. ‘On the off chance that you have in fact been killed the necessary time to wait before you attempt to do anything too strenuous is exactly ten days. The circumstances don’t matter. Whether you have been murdered, accidental death, or tried to take your own life doesn’t matter. Ten days is how long you wait, Hanako.’

She wouldn’t break that rule again. 

 

‘June 12th, Hanako Natsumi’s apartment, 4:58’

 

Hanako found herself flipping on the TV, filling the quiet room with obnoxious noise. She needed something to distract herself, if only for a few more minutes before she bolted from the room.

Hanako didn’t bother looking at the scream, the familiar voices of the newscaster she watched every nearly every evening was enough to calm her nerves. 

“Hello people of Yorknew, I’m Taka Akane.”

“And I’m Tecumi Makashima.”

“Tonight we bring to you breaking news that Kurosawa Hiro, chief of the Yorknew police department, has brought to the public during a requested conference that was held just three hours ago at Yorknew’s central police station. Makashima.”

Hanako stuffed her fluffy, white (now with a few droplets of stained blood upon it) pillow into the duffel bag before squishing it down so more things could be put within it’s small confines.

“Kurosawa Hiro and a trusted associate of his and a trusted deputy at the police department gave their testimonies today. Please turn your attention to the video of the conference. We’ve cut out the beginning of the speeches and hope you listen to this emergency given to the public by the police.”

Hanako couldn’t help but steal a quick glance at the flashing screen. She saw two men, both in Yorknew police officer suits, one looked too stoic and just straight up frightening to be the chief of the police department, he looked too menacing. The other officer, on the other hand, was short and stout and looked as though he was about to piss himself while sitting next to his boss on the conference table. Cameras flashed and people from every angle barked questions up at the two like wild animals. Hanako gulped, not feeling very calm by the TV’s noise filling her apartment.

“--handle it. Thank you all for coming and listening to what we have to say. I’ll pass it on to Mr. Sukishima now for more details.” Chief Kurosawa said, his voice emotionless and rough.

Clearing his throat, the terrified officer looked down at a piece of paper before him before speaking, “As of th--this morning the bureau of investigation has i-informed the Yorknew police department that A-list criminals have been seen and have yet to be apprehended in the city of Yorknew.”   
Gasps erupted from the crowd. More cameras flashed, blinding both officers. More questions were hollered from news reporters.

“These criminals are reported to be dangerous, armed, and if seen should call authorities or hide immediately for your own safety. Do not engage these criminals if seen. At this moment I am not permitted by the bureau to release their crimes to the public. Their names and faces will be released tonight on the Yorknew news station at five o’clock pm. Please tune in and--”

“What are their crimes?” A news reporter blurted out from the front row.

“Names! Can I get some names, Mr. Kurosawa? Just a moment--”

“Why haven’t they been found?! What about the children going to sch--”

“What good are A-list criminals if you can’t even say what crimes they committed!?”

As the crowd became louder and louder Chief Kurosawa slammed his large, meaty fist against the conference table, nearly shushing the whole crowd. He spoke loudly into the microphone, “These criminals are suspected of having a connection to Anzai Ise’s murder. That is all the information we can give now. This press conference is over.”

The TV’s sounds blended and nearly disappeared as Chief Kurosawa’s words hit Hanako’s ears. Toothpaste and other toiletries fell out of Hanako’s arms and landed roughly on the ground. Her body became increasingly still as she stared at the TV screen. Every nerve in her body felt on edge while every muscle in her body grew tense. Her mind became blank and her jaw fell open when she took in the pictures on the screen before her.

Five photos were on the screen, but only one made Hanako feel as if her whole world would come crashing down any moment. Everything she was going to leave and try and forget slowly began to resurface the longer she stared at the disturbingly familiar face upon the screen. Her mind screamed for her to run, run far away and forget this entire mess. To start off new and fresh. Change her name, meet new people, the whole lot of it seemed so appealing that for a moment Hanako deeply considered it.

Akane’s voice rung through Hanako’s subconscious, “...Benjji Sen, age 28, Naomi Tadeshi, age 26, and Kahor Kiroyuki, only age 19. We have been told by authorities not to be tricked by some of these criminals young age. Their age has nothing to do with their ability to kill even the most honorable and honest…” 

She knew that was impossible. It would never be possible now that she had seen it. That new beginning that looked so close she would only have to stretch an inch farther to grasp it diminished before her very eyes. All she could see now was the familiar face of Naomi Tadeshi, piercing and all, smiling and leaning up against the long totem pole in the infamous York Tavern.

Hanako barely recalled the memory of snapping that photo on her first day working at the Tavern. Her first day meeting Naomi. Why had such a precious memory now flash upon the screen for all people in Yorknew and more to see with the headline of ‘dangerous criminals’?

 

 

‘June 12th, (above) Hanako’s Natsumi’s apartment, 5:13’

 

Annoyed wasn’t the correct word to describe the feeling the flooded through Illumi at that point in time. Anger? Furious? Vengeful? No...words couldn’t explain the complete rage that came off in angry waves off the young assasin’s body. Illumi was certain that after two hours of sitting on top of Hanako Natsumi’s apartment that his blood lust had increased to a point that even a beginner to the practice of nen would be able to sense him from a least a mile and half away. 

A sigh escaped past the assasin’s puffy lips. The wind rushed by in violent cycles, hitting him each time with enough force to ruffle his short blonde hair and chap his lips. He didn’t dare lick them though, the thought of licking lips that felt so foreign to him made the assassin squirm in discomfort. Illumi felt more weighed down, he was still tall and somewhat thin, but it didn’t even come close to what his original form actually was. In illumi’s mind the assassin felt like he had gained at least another forty pounds to lug around wherever he went and although the assassin was trained to do strenuous work after three hours he found himself growing a bit annoyed by the excess weight.

Illumi hated his new form. It wasn’t like he ever liked a form that wasn’t his though. This one just annoyed the pessimistic assassin because it could’ve been easily avoidable had he not trusted the troublesome magician. Just the thought of the red-haired idiot made Illumi fume with anger. Closing his weary eyes, Illumi knew he had to calm down and focus on what his true mission was. If he thought about the clown any longer he would be sure to run off a kill him with the swipe of his needle.

Illumi knew that after he had killed Naomi Tadeshi and her group of friends that he wouldn’t be able to keep the man’s form he had stolen for much longer. Walking around after you are presumed dead would definitely cause more trouble than Illumi had the patience to deal with. It was a standard rule he had set for himself if he ever occasionally had to take the form of another. He didn’t expect to have to go into a different disguise so soon though. Of course it was unavoidable though no matter how skilled of a killer Illumi was that fact of the matter was the man he killed and was disguised as was put on as a headliner on the news of Yorknew. 

Illumi would be lying if he said he knew exactly what the police department were doing by framing these five as ‘dangerous criminals’, but in the end he released it really didn’t matter. They were dead and he knew that for a fact and that is all that mattered. Figuring out what the police of Yorknew were trying to pull wouldn’t help him carry out his mission any sooner. He was smarter and knew more than them and whatever game they were trying to play he knew wouldn’t work.

Everything had almost fallen into place. Naomi Tadeshi was dead, Anzai Ise’s murderer was still a mystery, and most importantly no one had mentioned him in any more reports since Hanako’s last statement. Everything seemed to be almost completely over and done with if only the magician wasn’t involved. Illumi almost felt foolish for every putting the tiniest bit of faith in him. 

He had a simple mission. Simple. Something Illumi could do in his sleep. All he had to do was kill one little, measly, stupid, useless, weak girl and he couldn’t even pull that off in the large time frame Illumi was generously offered him. It was disgusting really. It made the assassin want to go and rip Hisoka’s neck open that second for wasting his time.

Illumi had a better idea though. All he had to do was wait a little longer. 

Slam!

Illumi’s ears perked up at the sound of the door slamming from within the confines of Hanako’s apartment. A small smile crossed the assassin’s lips as he slowly stood up from his crosslegged position. He walked over and soon was standing on the edge of the six story high building, his hands strewn lazily across his chest and eyes tied on the girl below him hurriedly getting into a run down black pickup truck that was sitting in the front of the apartment complex. 

Illumi pulled out his slick black phone and began taking pictures. Dozen of them in fact. He took pictures of her car, the license plate, the complex in general, street signs she passed as she sped away, but most importantly Illumi zoomed in and took pictures of Hanako herself. He until the little black pickup got lost within traffic and he could no longer spot her. There was no mistaking where she was going though. Where else would she go?

Illumi began to slide his finger along the smooth screen of his phone picking out at least fifteen photos before sending them with a single message to top it off at the bottom, ‘You have a day to catch her before the authorities do. She is headed to Yorkshire’  
He hit the send button without a second thought then promptly blocked the magician’s number. After all, he had no intention to contact him ever again after this. Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Illumi began strolling down the complex’s roof, whistling softly to himself. After weeks of irritation and unneeded fits of stress the assassin could finally relax. Both girls were either dead or none of his concern as far as he knew. ‘I’ll leave that other girl to Hisoka. If authorities find her before he does she’ll be sure to rat out on him before she even mentions me. That would cause a whole lot of trouble in his carefree world...’

“After all,” Illumi spoke, his voice much deeper and raspier than his normal tone. He looked out over the building, the clouds were murky and grey and cascaded over the city like a dirty blanket, dosing it in dirt and filth. A small shadow of a smile appeared on the assassin’s crafty face, “, Hanako Natsumi wouldn’t dare not go warn her dear ‘dead’ friend who is hiding away in Yorkshire that the police were looking for her.”

Not being able to compose himself properly, all sense of bloodlust or angered evaporated and all he was left with was some sense of joy. Excitement even. He found himself cackling quietly on top of the roof like a madmen. Thoughts of the weak girl traveling all the way to Yorkshire just to find out her friend is dead and that a mad magician will surely be tailing her soon to take her life made him nearly break down with laughter.

Illumi did find joy in the most cynical of things...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this story is unexpectedly (even I didn't expect it) really detailed and is actually piecing together quite well (if i do say so myself :)). Still though, I understand if people are having trouble keeping up with everything happening because I tend to leave out the finer details at time. So, in honor of all of you guys who stick with this little project of mine, I made a timeline. I can't say right now that it is 100% accurate, but it is pretty damn close by my standards. Please tell me if you notice I fucked up somewhere or you notice a loop hole. I wold really appreciate that :) And, without further ado...
> 
>  
> 
> May 21st: Anzai Ise was killed in the York Tavern bar by Hisoka.  
> May 22nd: Hanako’s tell officer Fujitama what happened the night before at the York Tavern  
> May 25th: Matano interrogates Hanako about the true events that took place on May 21st  
> May 27th: Illumi kills Benji Sen, Naomi Tadeshi, and three of their friends in Yorkshire  
> May 29th: Hisoka meets Illumi (disguised as Benji) at the Soho bar   
> June 3rd: Hisoka attacks Hanako in her apartment  
> June 4th: Matano finds out about the death of Naomi and comp. and orders that they appear on TV as wanted criminals  
> June 11th: Hanako heals from Hisoka’s attack   
> June 12th: Hanako sees broadcast of Naomi and decides to go find her in Yorkshire. Later on that day Illumi spots her leaving Yorknew after going to her apartment to check if Hisoka really killed her. Sends Hisoka picture of Hanako leaving town with a text.
> 
>  
> 
> Again, very rushed, so sorry if it isn't very accurate. I had it set up a way that the orger of events didn't go so well in order. Like stories with Matano clashed with Illumi which clashed with Hanako but in the end it wouldn't really make sense so while this makes sense I still feel like it's kind of boring >.>  
> Hope it helped you all though. Bye! Until next time I'm not fighting my way out of piles of homework.


	8. Genius to Madman

There is no great genius

without some touch of

madness.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 

 

 

Shattering glass could be heard erupting, the sound blasted throughout the spacious police department sending nearly everyone flying out of their desks and reaching for their guns. A loud cry could be heard shortly after alerting police officers furthermore that something had gone terribly wrong. Even the chief himself had busted out of his office and into the main lobby to see what the commotion was. Everyone seemed silent yet rambunctious at the same time as panic began to set in at the once calm police station. 

At least a dozen policemen scampered through the crowded hallways and towards the noise that was slowly, with every step they took, becoming louder and more horrifying. The noise sounded like someone going mad, completely insane and shook most of the officers to the bone. By the time they reached the source, nearly all of their guns had been pulled out and were wrapped tightly between their hands waiting to aim at whatever stood before them. All of them halted as they reached the second floor, their thick boots squeaking against the cement ground as they struggled to stop in front of the completely unexpected door of none other than Mr. Koin Matano. All the officer’s froze in shock at the sound echoing from the respected detective sent to them personally from the bureau's own personal office. 

“Mr. Matano…” A rookie police officer slowly reached his hand towards the doorknob to the private investigator's temporary office, shocking the rest that stood by.

“Stand back, Totama.” A woman police officer with long, jet black hair stepped in front of the rookie, shoving him back in line with the others that stood behind her towering figure. All of them stared up at the terrifying woman who seemed to have appeared from nowhere as soon as the rookie made a move towards the door. The woman was fierce and while all of the other men stood cowering behind her, their faces growing a heated red at the horrendous sounds echoing from Matano’s office, she stood firm with a stone cold face. Her eyes were tiny, brown slits that looked as though they could cut a man in two. 

“Stand back, gentleman.” The woman’s voice was deep and held much authority. The woman slowly rolled up her navy sleeves, she was the only police officer who didn’t draw their gun at the sound of Matano’s cries. Her long, firm legs took a couple daring steps back, “I’m going to kick down the door.”

Looks of horror crossed the shaken policemen behind her. Some couldn’t believe their ears and a few dared questioned her motives. The woman was beyond intimidating and didn’t look like someone you wanted to start an argument with. She was tall, much taller than even some of the men, and had a physique that could easily be seen as body builder status through her uniform. Despite the woman’s staggering look, a single police officer, a veteran, stepped forth to question her, “Deputy Commissioner, I know you haven’t been here long, but Matano is a respected member of the bur--”

“Silence, Fujioka and learn your place.” The woman barked before promptly swinging her leg up and hitting the middle of the door with the sole of her leather boot. The door didn’t fall down--it blew off it’s hinges and broke into multiple pieces before the officers eyes. Some questioned if she had used nen to give her such enormous strength, but others knew that was impossible. Officers weren't allowed to be nen users just to secure the safety of their comrades and citizens. It had been a rule for nearly fifty years in the Yorknew police station and had yet to be broken. 

Unfazed, the woman stepped into the room. The silent whimpers and mumbling of words echoed from behind Matano’s desk. Standing upright, she spoke, “Detective Matano, please proceed from behind the desk with your arms held high above your head.”

“Deputy Commissioner, Matano isn’t a--”

“Did I give you permission to speak, Officer Kenzaburo?” The woman nearly growled, her voice sounding more wild than any human could sound. Her hair fell gracefully over her shoulder as she dropped her death glare towards the officer and focused her attention back on Matano. The officer immediately backed off and reluctantly held up his gun. The others followed in suit.

“Mr. Matano, I’m giving you to the count of five. If you do not emerge, me and the men occupying this building will have no choice but to take action against--”

“Taniko Adachi….correct?” 

The Deputy Commissioner's eyes widened a bit at the sudden change in Matano’s tone, he almost sounded sane again. Folding her arms tightly behind her back, she spoke again, “You are correct, Mr. Matano. Do you need any of our assistance?”

All of the sudden, with great patience and careful gathering, Matano slowly emerged from behind the mahogany desk. His hair was a horrid mess and hid most of his paled face which was turned away from the awaiting officers. His cheeks were flushed a brilliant red while his eyes remained wide open with a numbing sense of panic and fear welled behind them that spread like a virus throughout the room. The very aura that suddenly clouded the room sparked creating a feeling of distress within each police officer, even daring a few to step out of the room. The man’s usual composed and confident demeanor was completely diminished, all of the respect he had earned for those underneath him seemed to vanish along with Matano’s uncertain state of sanity.

“Men, move out.”

All eyes suddenly became detached from the scene before them and struck the Deputy Commissioner with awe. Gulping, a senior ranked officer stepped forward, “Commissioner, I do have respect for you but--”

“Out. Now. Or you die.” The Commissioner said through clenched teeth. Her aura, already intimidating and deadly, had somehow increased to a point where officers could no longer remain in the room without shriveling down to their knees. 

Once all the men had cleared out of the intoxicating room there was nothing left, except two deadly auras battling each other, each one more frightening than the other. Neither backed down nor stirred, the room was in a complete silent time lapse until, with a wholesome sigh, Matano’s voice cracked through the haze, “So, it comes to this.”

Reaching slyly into his brown jacket, the detective lifted up a gun. Matano's figure went rigid as his fist tightened around the metal within his grasp. The target the pistol was ready to strike down was no mystery, but the woman hardly even flinched. Her eyes remained cold and dead centered on her opponent. Her arms were still firmly behind her back, her chin held high, the hat upon her head nearly covered her striking eyes, and her feet placed equally apart. Her confidence pose did nothing to the crazed Matano as he slowly lifted his head, revealing his crazy, eager eyes that erupted with a sort of excitement that would put the most deadly men on their backs.

“Dodging won't pass the test, Hun. But good luck, Commissioner. I do wish you the best.” Matano spoke, his voice raspy and nearly a whisper. He cocked his head slightly to the side, observing the women intently.

“It’ll be my honor, sir.” The woman said without skipping a beat, her face hardening only a bit. Releasing her arms, she let them lay flat at her sides and slowly moved her left leg back behind her. Her muscles stiffened, rippling her uniform and making each limb reveal its true power. Titling her head to the side, Taniko Adachi looked like the essence of fear purged into a human life force.

Matano wasted no time pulling the trigger and letting his hand reel backwards as the bullet went whizzing out of the pistol and towards the suspecting Commissioner. A gruesome smile appeared on the detective’s face as he watched in amusement. The Deputy Commissioner wasted no time lifting her hands into a standard fighting stance and engulfing her left fist in a bright orange ray, it looked as though a flame had suddenly sparked from her fingertips. In a quick snap movement, her fist went flying forward as if an unknown force were dragging her forward. The only thing that remained still was her two feet that looked nearly cemented to the ground.

When the simple, metallic bullet made contact with the woman’s gloved hand an explosion erupted. The bullet shattered before it barely grazed the flame aura sending pieces and bits of heated parts throughout Matano’s office. The detective barely had enough time to duck behind his desk before the remnants of the destruction reached him as well. A thundering boom could be heard, almost like a louder echo after the actual shot of the bullet. Matano’s screams from before suddenly didn’t seem so eeri as the whole police station ducked down in panic at the strange explosions erupting from the second floor.

Pulling her fist down, the Commissioner straightened up and returned to her calm but fierce demeanor. Her voice came out clearly, “My apologies detective. I overexerted too much force into that punch.”

“Where does the Bureau make people like you nowadays?” Matano said wearily, his head barely exposing itself from beneath the desk. The tone of his voice though said it all. He was blow away, filled to the brim with happiness at the specimen before him. 

“Classified, sir.” The Commissioner said, her face stone cold and serious.

Laughing silently, Matano arose from the back of his desk, his hand rested on the top of the cracked and burnt desk, “Are you left handed, Taniko?”

The Commissioner’s eyebrows rose only a bit in surprise as she unconsciously raised her left hand up from behind her back only to see the remnants of a few sparks of orange aura still viciously flying off the black leather of her glove. Looking back up at the crazed detective she nodded, “No sir.”

A sly smile crept onto Matano’s once composed features. His fingers curled together, his nails denting the wood as he did so, until his hand was clasped in a tight fist, “Splendid. Truly magnificent.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The old truck’s engine hummed softly, the sound almost calmed Hanako’s raging nerves but still the occasional bumps and clicks of the unsturdy road still seemed to jolt her mind back into reality. Even the blessed, calming scenery before the frightful girl’s eyes didn’t seem to draw her into a soothing state. The trees were abundant and seemed to pass by her rumbling truck in large quantities, each more healthy and graceful than the last. Each stood strong, untouched by the putrid stench of rundown cities and greedy landowners looking for anyway to make money (evening tearing down all of nature and it’s uncharitable beauty). The grass has a soft look to it as well, Hanako noticed, as a smell that filtered through the opened windows of the black truck filling the car with a sweet aroma that would have a normal being falling asleep in seconds. 

The sky was a radiant blue, cloudless and untouched by impurities. It seemed to stretch on for miles as did the cracked, degrading road Hanako drove on. The road seemed to be the only source of human creation to be seen for miles through the endless hoards of trees, bushes, and shrubs. Hanako didn’t mind though, she knew the drive to Yorkshire was tedious and most found it unpleasant to have to make the long drive out there. She was more than fine with being alone for at last a couple hours. Alone where she could run away. Run away from her troubles only to find more awaiting her.

Hanako’s radio cracked softly, music played and then would be suddenly interrupted by static. The girl didn’t mind though, she understood that she was too far away from civilization to be able to pick up a decent signal. There was only one thing wrong with silence. Silence meant that Hanako would be stuck this entire time alone. Alone with nothing but her thoughts to trouble and torture her until she arrived in Yorkshire.

Hanako let out a deep sigh while sulking back into her leather seat, her hands gripped the wheel firmly before her. A couple of birds cooed harmoniously in the distance, but the speed of her truck soon passed them with ease, instantly cutting away from their beautiful music. Her bags clicked in the back seat of her truck. She didn’t have much, but packing everything she owned wasn’t going to be a one bag operation either. Three hefty suitcases sat in the back of her vehicle along with one black duffel bag filled mostly with last minute items she quickly stuffed into the mostly unused bag while in a hurry to escape the confines of her apartment.

That was only an hour and fifteen minutes ago. She wasn’t far enough. She still felt the cold touch of Yorknew still haunting her from a distance. She needed to race further, push on until no memories could be found within her brain to come back and torture her later on. She knew what she had to do in Yorkshire and she knew she was the only one who could do it. Her plan might not have been set and stone but at least she had an idea of what she was going to do.

Once she arrived in Yorkshire she would somehow find Naomi and warn her about the broadcast on TV. It didn’t matter whether or not Naomi thought she was guilty of ‘ratting her out to the police’ or not. What was important was the task of getting her far away. Surely the news hadn’t reached a smaller town like Yorkshire yet but once it did Hanako had no doubt that Naomi would be caught. She would do or say anything to get Naomi far away, she would even help her if she had to. She was fully prepared to do it all. To not disappoint.

The real question that plagued Hanako’s mind was what then? Where would she go once she warned Naomi? Back to Yorknew? No, just the very thought of turning around and going back to that city made Hanako’s stomach churn in horror. That town was haunted for her-destroyed by one little incident that turned out to be a domino effect that would alter the course of her life forever. In the end, going back to Yorknew was impossible. Not after what had happened…

Hanako’s hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. She bit her bottom lip roughly holding back whatever emotions were wanting to come up and spill out of her. Every muscle in her body became tense as she drove on, seamlessly into the light and further onwards. 

Hanako was weak. She had been told that her entire life and although she had been cursed with eternal life that didn’t change the fact at all. She couldn’t defend herself, her aura was too weak and her mind was too shattered. Nothing she could to, immortality and all, could save her from this world. The only thing that could was hiding and running. Running so far that no one could harm or perhaps even see her. Hanako was prepared for it all. She was prepared to live in isolation, prepared to live this immortality out until she simply rotted away into the dirt never to be seen again.

She was prepared to never see those horrid, yellow, piercing eyes ever again. 

Hanako was so deep in thought she almost didn’t notice the sudden figure that had suddenly appeared a mere twenty feet in front of her. Going at the speed she was and in a sort of haze whilst lost in her mind, Hanako had no choice but the tighten her grip and swerve out of the way as quickly as she could to avoid a collision. Spinning the wheel and sending the car flying towards the side of the rode, Hanako finally was able to grasp the horrible decision she just made. The car’s tire hit the peak where the road ended and the grass began and spun out of control causing the whole car to follow in suit. 

Sweat and panic raced through Hanako as she quickly tried to regain control of the car but to no avail. Her palms were too clammy and the fear had already taken over her senses. All Hanako could do was watch as her car continued to squeak out of control before a single tire had rutted itself deep within a small hole in the grassy outskirts of the road. The black truck made one last cry of urgency from the engine before flipping and landing roughly on it’s side, shaking the only occupant within it to near unconsciousness. The car rolled, quicker and quicker with each spin as it toppled through the grasslands. Broken glass and pieces of metal broke off and began to scatter about the forest floor. The spinning seemed to last forever and kept getting faster and faster the farther the car fell. Eventually, the car finally came to an abrupt stop when lodged in between two oak trees. The car landed firmly upside down, shaking the earth and leaving the once lively forest in a dead silence.

Hanako let out a choked gasp as her eyes sprung open only seconds after the car had made it’s stop. Gashes, cuts, and bruises were scattered about Hanako’s frail body, each one sending sparks of pain throughout The girl's mind. Her clothes were a tattered mess and her suitcases had been forced opened and were now scattered about the ceiling of the black truck. One suitcase though, Hanako’s smallest, had somehow wedged itself between the steering wheel and Hanako’s right arm, undoubtedly causing a serious break in her forearm. The girl struggled only for a moment before realizing that it would be nearly impossible to wedge her arm out from between the suitcase and chair it was undoubtedly stuck between. 

Pain flooded throughout Hanako’s body as she took in the mangled sight before her. An uncontrollable sob escaped past her lips as tears started to slowly leak from the corner of her eyes. Her arm was broken as well as her leg, she could feel them both break as soon as the car had come to a stop. The front end of the car had been smashed and was now crushing both of her legs, her left one more damaged and broken than the other. Worse yet, she was hanging upside down and her seatbelt was now acting more like a noose than a safety belt. 

Hanako didn’t even have to shift, she didn’t even dare try to move. She knew she was stuck, and stuck badly. Her wounds, her broken arm and leg needed to heal for her to have enough strength to pry out of the torn down car. With the suitcase plastered against her forearm and her legs smashed between the front end of the car, recovery was impossible. She couldn’t recover, not while in this position.

Her eyes took in her surroundings carefully, she was in full on panic mode. She nearly found herself unable to cope with the situation before her as fear settled within her mind. She forced her neck to painfully move so that she could see the back of the car, but her head couldn’t turn far enough to see the road. For all she knew she could be miles into the forest, away from any help or civilization. Shards of glass were sticking out of her abdomen and leg, some tiny pieces even managed to imbed themselves in her arm. A pitiful cry left Hanako’s mouth at the pain and gravity of the whole situation hit her full force and was quickly followed by more tears. 

'If I were normal....I would be dead.'

The thought dawned upon with such force that Hanako could barely think. 

“Help!” Minutes later that was the first word that Hanako could choke out. Her voice was hoarse and dry as her immobile body began to feel more weak as the seconds ticked by. “Ah, ah, pl-please….help me! I...ah, I can’t...I…”

The car jolted violently. Hanako’s scream ripped through the forest as more glass and metal cracked and fell around her. The girl could only barely lift up her left arm to cover her eyes to shield anything from getting within them. It was obvious a heavy weight had suddenly been put upon the car and was pushing her down farther, daring to remove her from the two trees that held her car in place from falling further into the forest. All the girl could do was sniffle and cry as the car began to shake more before the weight suddenly vanished and out of the corner of Hanako’s wide, teary eyes she could see where it had landed.

Only a short couple of feet away, perched perfectly on a miscellaneous limb off a tree sat none other than the devil himself. The moment the deathly magician’s eyes made contact with Hanako’s she knew she had reached the end of the line. All her life, Hanako never truly experienced what it felt like to be in mortal danger, for her life was secure whether she liked it or not. But now, while looking deep within the eyes of a true creature, a true monster, Hanako felt her last life line cut short. All she could do now was wait.

Cocking his head slightly to the side, a small, devilish smile formed on the magician face, “How rude of me~~. This certainly isn’t the way I should greet someone who has been making my life so much fun lately.”

Hanako’s chest rose up and down quickly as her body became rigidly still at the magician’s word. The red-haired man suddenly stood up, the smile never wavering from his features, and placed a single bony hand on his jutted out hip. He spoke, his voice sounding more like a hiss than anything, “You know what I’ve just realized. Something interesting really.”

The magician continued, jumping off the limb and onto the close grassy land below with ease, “I have never heard you scream. Until just now, you see. I’ve seen you in let’s see, um, two, no now three life or death situations,” the slimey magician held up three fingers proudly. “Well, I guess life or death situations aren’t really a thing that is possible for you to experience, are they now~~?”

The magician slowly stalked closer, with each step Hanako could feel herself being pulled away from this world. The smile only intensified when the crafty magician bent down next to Hanako’s driver window. Hanako could suddenly feel the pulse, the brute power of the being before her run off of him like ways of pure evil that the girl never thought was possible to possess. The whole experience made every thought of pain slip from her mind and replaced it with a feeling of numbness that raked her whole body. 

The magician raised one eyebrow as he took in the delicate girl before him, before snickering softly, “You must simply be horrified right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Matano is the one who goes mad first in this story. Whoop. That is saying that neither Hanako nor Hisoka is already mad but I guess that is up your guy's opinion. I know I didn't go into depth about Matano's sudden crack of sanity but no worries all will be explained next chapter :)  
> Also Taniko Adachi, my new OC, will also be explained as well  
> And lastly! what will happen between Hanako and Hisoka?  
> So many cliffhangers I'm sorry my lovelies it won't be long I promise :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys are liking the feel of the story so far. I don't have an exact idea of what arc this would take place in. Probably the Yorknew city arc if anyone needs to know out there who is reading it.
> 
> Until next time, my lovelies. Bye~~~


End file.
